


We met Once Upon a Dream

by WriterPunky



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sleeping Beauty Fusion, First chapter is a prologue so not much is going on, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sleeping Beauty Elements, Slow Build, onesided feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-07-05 07:02:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15858606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterPunky/pseuds/WriterPunky
Summary: What was suppose to be a grand celebration turned into a complete disaster. A child cursed to die young and a father who has no other choice but to let his son grow up without even realizing who he truly was. If this would save his son's life he'd do anything, even if it killed him to not see him grow up.While the prince in hiding is living life, he meets a boy that catches his eye making him wish to know more about him as the years go by. However, things don't look as smooth sailing as it should as a great danger may be lurking just around the corner with a difficult price to pay. Could another be interested in the hidden prince as well?-------A take on the Sleeping Beauty story, mostly based on the 1959 Disney animated film. Will try to make it as different as I can (with hopefully slight improvements).Updates every Friday!





	1. Prologue: Birth of a Prince

Prologue: A Birth of a Prince

Many years ago in a far off land, there was a prosperous and thriving kingdom. The king and queen of this kingdom had been loved by all and had been lucky enough to help and hear out their subjects’ concerns, solving the problem as best as they could. Many would say that the king and queen were blessed enough to be given such a happy life. And yet, that was not the case.

For some time, the king and queen had been trying to have a child of their own but with no luck. No, not because they wanted to secure an inheritor to take over once their time was done, which would be the case for most kingdoms. They genuinely wanted to have a child to raise, to love and cherish, and to see grow with each year. As they tried, they had prayed to the gods to bless them with a child. With enough patience and effort, their prayers had been answered and the queen was soon pregnant. Oh how joyous both parents and the kingdom had been of such news!

   
But just as the news of a new baby coming along had filled everyone with joy, there was a bitter consequence. The happy couple had visited the doctors, more frequently than needed, only to find out there was an ultimatum to be made: let the queen live but the child die, or let the child live but the queen die.

Unfair. Betrayal. Miserable. Heart-breaking. Words that went all around in the king’s thoughts when he was told of this information. How, how could he even make such a decision? He didn’t want to, he couldn’t do this. All he ever wanted was a loving and happy family he could call his own and this would be taken away from him! He didn’t want this to happen.

He didn’t.

He wouldn’t!

He-

“Darling…” a soft voice spoke, snapping him out of his train of thoughts. “Please, for the both of us…” she mumbled, her hand trailing down his arm and locking her hand with his. “I want you to take care of our child. Be strong and raise them well…”

“I…dear, what are you even saying?” he said, his voice cracking.

“Darling, I love you…so much…and from what I’ve been told by the doctors…” she spoke, her voice growing quieter, “I-It’s me. It’s my fault that we haven’t been able to carry a child until now…”

“No! No, no, my love, it’s not your fault!” the king staggered, holding onto her hand tightly.

“Yes it is…my body…it’s not strong enough to handle a baby…I’m sorry,” she said, a single tear dropping down.

“Love, don’t blame yourself. We didn’t know, we couldn’t have known until now,” he told her, wiping her tear. “I don’t blame you, know that. I just…I can’t. I can’t choose between you and this child…”

“I know…that’s why I’m choosing for you…” she smiled weakly.

“You can’t be serious...”

“I am,” she firmly spoke, “I want you to have this baby and raise them the best that you can.”

“But-”

“Darling, I know how badly you want to have a family. And I know you’ll be a great father for our child. You need to take this chance. Not only for yourself, but for me too…please. Please…do this for the both of us…”

“I…” the king hesitated, staying as strong as he could before tears spilled from his eyes, “I promise…I’ll do what I can to take raise our child…for the both of us.”

“Thank you…and when I leave this Earth, I’ll be watching over you both,” she smiled at her heart broken husband.

And with the decision made, the queen continued her trimester. During the months it was obvious that as happy and excited the queen could be, she had been growing weaker and weaker. Yet she kept her spirits high, excited that she could finally have a child even if she couldn’t be there for them physically.

Finally the day came when the newborn royal would come! How delighted the kingdom became!  Unfortunately as the kingdom rejoiced, the king stressed. This would be the last time he would see his beloved wife. But he needed to be strong. For her, for himself, and of course, for the child.

The king had been there every step of the way for his wife, encouraging her and praising her as she gave birth. It wasn’t long that what had been filled with angered screams the room soon became quiet. And then, a small cry could be heard. Finally a baby was born! The king praised and kissed his wife all over, telling her what a great job she did.

Yet her breathes became shorter, her time was soon up. With not much time to think, the king brought their new baby boy so his wife could see him.

“There he is, can you see him? He looks so much like you,” the king told his wife, tears falling down as he cradled their baby close to her.

“Heh…sh-should’ve looked more like…you…” she laughed weakly, tears dropping from her as well. “It’s fine...I’m sure he’ll b-be as brave and k-kind as you though.” With the last of her strength, she gently caressed her crying baby’s face.

“M-My loving King Bl-Blaytz…I…I want his name to be…L-Lance…” she whispered.  
  
“Of course…Lance shall be his name” he cried, so hurt seeing his wife slowly slip away from him.

“Lance…I-I’m sorry I can’t b-be there for you anymore…” she whispered, “but I’ll be there for you in spirit…be good and live a happy life…m-my son…”

With that, she drew her final breath and passed away. The king mourned for her, so distraught to have lost his wife. And when news of the queen’s passing was known, so did the kingdom. Yet for the king, he could not mourn for long as he now was responsible to care for their newborn son. He swore on her grave that Lance would be taken care of and live a good life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for giving this a chance! Sorry the first chapter/prologue is short but I plan to make the following chapters from here on longer for those who want to read more. 
> 
> Comments are always welcomed!


	2. A Celebration and a Curse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A grand party for the prince's first birthday where everyone is having a good time. But during the celebration things don't go as expected, for better or worse. Unfortunately, it's for the worse.

Chapter 1: A Celebration and a Curse

 

It had been one year since the birth of the new prince and death of the queen. Although King Blaytz was still in grief over his beloved wife, he decided that he would focus more on celebrating Prince Lance. He knew his wife would have wanted it this way and, for her sake, made sure that would be the case. After a few days of planning, the day came when everyone in the kingdom would celebrate Lance’s birthday. Since the king had the utmost faith and trust with his people, just as they did with him, he allowed any and all folk to come and see their new prince. He even invited a few neighboring kingdoms to come join the celebration! Many had brought gifts for the baby, cooing and awing when they had the chance to see him.

  
Among the crowd there was another king with a small child. It was King Ulaz of Marmora and his son Takashi Shirogane. The kingdoms of Marmora and Nalquod had one of the strongest bonds, with the kings surprisingly close with their friendship. Ulaz had been there to support Blaytz when he lost his wife. Although a few would say this friendship was rather odd as both kings had opposite personalities. But that did not matter to them since they were more than pleased with their friendship.

  
“Ulaz! I’m so glad you could make it!” Blaytz gleefully greeted as he playfully smacked the other when he got close enough.

  
“Of course, wouldn’t want to insult you or your child,” Ulaz replied, not very much phased by the other’s rough housing.

  
“Ah, c’mon you need to lighten up a bit, it is a party after all!” he cheered. Blaytz noticed that the small being hidden behind Ulaz, grinning as he knelt down to the small one’s height. “Aww, is that who I think it is? My, you sure did grow last time I saw you, huh?”

  
The small boy nodded as he slowly came out of hiding. He gave a small bow and looked up at the king. “Hello, it’s nice to make your acquaintance, King Blaytz,” he spoke.

  
“Haha and so formal too! Bet that’s your father’s fault since he’s a big stick in the mud huh?” the king joked only to be smacked in the head.

  
“Stick in the mud or not, it’s my way of ruling. Perhaps you should pick up a few pointers, Blaytz. You could use them,” he lectured the other king. He looked down to address the boy now, “Takashi, since I know you have been behaving well, you may go greet the young prince.”  


His son nodded and slowly made his way over to the cradle. As the child left, Blaytz got up and looked over at Ulaz skeptically. “I know we’ve already discussed this but…are you positive this will be a good idea?”

  
“I know you’re hesitant, but give them some time. They are fairly young as of now, so we shouldn’t rush just yet. If they can’t get along within a decade we may dismiss the arrangement,” Ulaz said while keeping an eye on his boy.

  
It had been decided some months ago that Lance and Takashi would be betrothed to one another. At first, and understandably so, Blaytz was not on board when the idea was suggested to him. Ulaz did his best to reassure him and explain how it would happen. Since Lance and Shiro were the closest in age (with a 3 year gap) when compared to any other princes and princesses of the neighboring kingdoms, they’d at least try to see if they could get along. If so then they would fall through with the arrangement to be wedded. If not then they could always try other ways for their sons to find a suitor. Plus it would be nice for Lance to be around someone his age more often; Ulaz had promised they would visit as often as they could. So although the two young princes had been betrothed, their fathers would not reinforce it on them. Still, Blaytz was more than unsure about the idea but thought he’d try this out and see how this played out.  


As the fathers engaged in small talk, young Takashi made his way over and took a peek into the crib to see the small infant. Honestly, the boy was rather confused when his father mentioned a few times that he would be friends with Lance. How was that going to happen, he’s just a baby?! Perhaps his father was finally going insane from how strict he’s been his whole life.  


“Ah, young Takashi! Come to see the most adorable baby of the Naqulod!” said a very energetic man. It had been Coran, the advisor for King Blaytz and the current sitter for Lance as he made sure that the baby was safe.  


“Um, y-yes. Father said I could come see him,” Takashi mumbled, the boy rather shy for his age.  


“Not surprised! It’s only natural that the future kings should start to get to know each other! The sooner the better I say! Ah I can remember back in my day when…” Coran started to blather, now going into his own little world as he reminisced. Takashi didn’t really understand what he blabbered about and honestly was rather weirded out by him.  


Mindlessly, the young prince poked the baby’s cheek a few times as he reminded himself that he needed to be gentle. Even more so since he didn’t want the small boy to start crying and get into trouble.  


It was rather…cute how Lance responded back.

  
At first he was confused to why he was being poked at. It felt weird for sure, but at least it wasn’t hurting him. For a second he made Takashi scared that maybe he poked him too hard as the baby’s face looked as if he would start to cry. Yet in a surprise turn of events, he started to giggle and laugh, the tiny baby hand now grabbing onto the older prince’s finger. Takashi sighed in relief but giggled with the baby as he played along and started to pretend that Lance had a tight grip on him. Even Coran, who seemed to be done with his story, couldn’t help but coo at the scene.

  
Everyone around seemed to be having a good time, conversing and enjoying the wonderful mood and atmosphere. A light breeze came by, a few specks of what looked to be glitter entering the room. The glitter soon turned into balls of colorful light: pink, green, and red respectfully. And soon the light turned into small beings that eventually grew in size. Now in front of King Blaytz, the magical beings curtsied and bowed as they presented themselves.  


“King Blaytz of Nalquod, it’s a great privilege to have been invited to join you in celebration of your new child,” the one in pink spoke in grace.  


“As it is to celebrate the healthy birth of the new child, it would be an honor for you to allow us to grant special gifts for the young prince,” the one in green spoke in confidence.  


“Yes, of course it is. Also shouldn’t it be the other way around? Hahaha!” laughed King Blaytz, “I mean it’s more of an honor to be granted gifts from the good fairies, right?”  


“No, duh your highness. It’s not like we have much of a choice in the matter, like you’ll ever see us buy the tiny human a gift or something,” the one in red spoke with much sarcasm and attitude.  


And just as he said that, the two others punch him on each of his arms rather hard.  


“OUCH! Hey?! What’s that for?! Pidge! Allura!” the red one growled, rubbing his arms.  


“Keith, I swear can you just PLEASE go one party without being a smart ass?!” the pink one, Allura, snapped in annoyance.  


“Wow, I’m sarcastic for a minute and already get smacked at!” Keith back talked.  


“And then you wonder why we end up having to choose you last for everything,” sighed the green one, Pidge, as she rolled her eyes.  


“Ahem, an-anyway, please don’t mind Keith, he’s better mannered I assure you!” Allura told the king, trying to recover from their slight embarrassment. But all he did was just laugh and dismiss their antics as it wasn’t anything serious. It was rather amusing to see them bicker, really.  


“It’s alright, no need to worry!” he grinned to show there was no ill impression. “If the fairies are ready, they are more than welcomed to present their gifts to my son,” he said, showing them where the small cradle was placed.  


“Thank you, King Blaytz, but first I must mention what we intend to do,” Allura said, “Each of us fairies will be allowed to grant your son with one blessing. No more and no less. It’s as simple as that!” She smiled brightly at him as they finally moved along and was rather a bit excited to see the baby, as were the other two.  


Alright, more like as was Pidge since Keith kept his poker face on. But maybe deep down he was excited to see a baby too. Maybe.  


Having noticed (and startled) that the fairies had appeared and made their way over, Takashi reluctantly withdrew his hand from Lance’s grip and went back to his father. Of course little Lance started to tear up since he lost the attention of the older boy. But he quickly calmed down as soon as he saw the new faces of people look over his crib. Allura and Pidge couldn’t help but coo at Lance, not surprising that they thought he was adorable. Keith on the other hand just stared at him, mostly having a confused and weird expression.  


“This is him? This is the baby everyone has been fusing over for?” Keith commented quietly, “man, humans are weird to awe and coo over a much smaller, and kind of ugly, looking human.”

And with that being said, he received another punch from Pidge.  


“Ow!”  


“Seriously, keep your thoughts to yourself sometimes, Keith!”  


“Tsk, you’re just mad because I’m making a valid point, Katie!”  


“Hey! You know I prefer Pidge you son of a-”  


“AHEM!” Allura coughed, “Shall we grant our gifts now?”  


Pidge and Keith quickly nodded as they knew Allura would only get pissed with them if they continued. With everything settled, the fairies began on their work.

Allura stepped up first as she began to recite her blessing.  


“Sweet prince, I shall grant you the gift of beauty. With this gift, your charm and grace shall capture the hearts of many. May this gift be a great blessing to you,” Allura hummed, waving her wand in the air as magic sparkles floated around the small baby before a small pink light burst showing that her gift had been granted.  


Next was Pidge, very excited as she began to recite her blessing.  


“Small prince, I shall grant you the gift of compassion. With this gift, your understanding and love for others shall have you loved in return. May this gift be a great blessing to you,” Pidge beamed, waving her wand in the air, just as Allura did, as the same process happened with a small green light bursting to show her gift had been granted as well.  


Keith had been last and although he seemed unamused, even rolling his eyes from the ridiculous gifts Allura and Pidge had given the kid, he did his best to look at least pleasant for the baby.  


“Dear prince, I shall grant you the gift of-” Keith spoke but never got to finish reciting his blessing, interrupted as the doors of the main hall burst wide open.

  
A rush of wind and cold air swept the entire room as everyone began to panic wondering what was going on. A dark smoke clouded the hall until finally it formed into a being itself. Right before the eyes of the many people and the king had appeared an elderly yet sinister looking woman, next to her an equally as sinister looking cat.  


“Haggar!” the trio of fairies snapped as they all glared at the wicked fairy.  


Haggar took a look around at the big room only to slowly show a smirk. “Well isn’t this lovely, seems as though the king really did invite all to come see his precious child. I see there’s quite a few royalties, the nobility, and…oh how quaint. He’s even invited the poorly dressed jesters too,” she snickered as her last comment was directed towards the fairies. Allura had to do her best to keep Keith and Pidge from doing anything stupid but could not blame how furious they were becoming.

  
“And what brings you here, Haggar?” growled Blaytz, as he stood in front of Lance and Coran, the advisor picking up and keeping Lance close and ready to leave if needed.  


“Well I was rather surprised to see that I had not yet received my invitation, dear King Blaytz,” the elder woman spoke in such fake concern, “it was rather distressing since I’m sure it must’ve gotten lost or-”  


“Ha! You didn’t receive one because you were not wanted you old hag-” barked Keith until Allura had to quickly cover his mouth before he said anything to further upset the evil fairy.  


“Not wanted-” Haggar said, cutting herself off before chuckling, “Oh dear. Now isn’t this an awkward situation.”  


Suddenly she turned away from the king and started to walk out.  


“Well my mistake then, I suppose I best be on my way,” she commented before stopping and turning back to stare straight at the king, “Although…I too wish to give your most precious child a gift.”

  
At that, everyone had a sinking feeling in the pit of their stomach. They all knew nothing good would ever come, especially from Haggar of all people. Ulaz quickly pulled out his sword, ready for whatever the cruel fairy would try to throw at them. Haggar only laughed wickedly as she pet her cat until she revealed her own wand (or rather it was a staff).  


“Listen well, all of you!” she spoke in such a booming voice, “Indeed your beloved prince shall grow up with beauty and grace. To be loved and respected by all that will know him. But…before the sun sets on his 16th birthday, he shall prick his finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. And DIE!”

  
Everyone in the room gasped and gawked at her curse. Blaytz on the other hand had begun to seethe with a building anger. NO! How?! How could she do this?! Lance was all he had left and to know he too would be taken away with an even shorter life span over some stupid curse made the king furious.  


“Take it back,” Blaytz growled, marching his way towards Haggar and pushing those who were in his way. Kova, the wicked fairy’s cat, hissed at the king the closer he came. Blaytz could care less and was not threatened. “TAKE BACK THE CURSE, YOU WRETCHED WITCH!”  


“My, my and here I thought you were known to be the kind and understanding king,” Haggar chuckled as she kept calm and petted Kova’s head for him to calm down too. “If you want the curse to be removed…then let’s make a deal.”  


Of course Haggar would set this up to be in her favor. It didn’t matter to the king. If there was a way to get rid of her curse, Blaytz had no choice but to listen to what she had to propose.  


“Fine…what is it?” Blaytz continue to growl while he clenched his fists tight.  


“I am more than willing to lift this curse off your child with this condition: if you want this curse removed, you must betroth your son, Lance, to my own son, Lotor. There our kingdoms will unite and we may benefit on both sides with this new bond.”

  
She couldn’t be serious. This had to be a joke. Yet he knew it wasn’t and also knew why she was suggested this. The kingdom of Daibazaal had been in the worst state for years, even more so since their king, Zarkon, had passed away and the “witch” took over. Normally Blaytz was quick to help out other kingdoms when needed which spread his reputation as the understanding king. But all knew of Daibazaal’s own reputation. They were unreliable, untrustworthy, and could betray their allies at any moment. For Haggar to suddenly ask for a union between the two kingdoms, she could only bring ruin with her.  


“Haggar, is there no other condition you may ask for to remove your curse,” Blaytz glared. If only looks could kill.  


“No! Either your son marries my Lotor or let him perish with this fate,” she quickly replied, only to stare at him maliciously. Her maliciousness turned into a cruel grin. “Oh, but if the idea of a marriage is such a horrid idea then perhaps you do not care for your son’s well being as much as you claim to.”  


Before he could reply back, smoke covered the room once more as Haggar and Kova made their exit all the while Haggar laughed.  


Blaytz’s fists were shaking hard, his teeth grinding, and it was obvious he was just that much closer to raging. He couldn’t believe this; he couldn’t believe that she did this. But what was worse, he already broke his promise. In just one year he couldn’t even keep the promise to keep Lance safe. What a disappointment, a fool, a complete failure he became.  


Just as he was getting deeper in thought, he felt someone hold onto his shoulder. Still angry, he faced the person with such fury and probably would’ve punched them right then and there. Yet he didn’t as it was Ulaz’s face he could easily recognize. If he were to mistaken Ulaz for anyone else, it was because how his face changed from his normal stoic to understandably sympathetic. It was rare but it meant only that much more how strong the friendship between them had been.  


Finally exhaling the air he had no idea that he’d been holding in, Blaytz took his time to calm down and look around the room. Everyone had been whispering amongst themselves and all looked worried for their king.  


“I am sorry, friend,” Ulaz spoke his hand gripping on the other’s shoulder, “you didn’t deserve this. Neither your son, still so young. You have my word though I will do what I can to help you find a way to break this awful curse.”  


“I…thank you, Ulaz,” Blaytz muttered, almost close to disbelief that they’d ever find a way to break Lance’s curse. It was then the pink fairy slowly came up and coughed to get his attention.  


“My king, it may not be much, but Keith has yet to give his gift to the small prince,” Allura mentioned trying to bring him some relief.  


“Then, he can break his cur-” Blaytz quickly spoke only to be interrupted.  


“No. His magic, nor mine or Pidge’s magic for that matter, are that strong enough to remove the curse,” she was force to dismiss but still tried to give him hope, “Even though we can’t remove it, Keith has the power to change it at least.”  


Keith turned to Allura, unsure if he really was able to do it like she said he could. He felt a light punch on the arm and turned to see Pidge was solemnly smiling at him.  


“Hey, if Allura knows you can do it then I do too. Have faith in yourself,” she said as sincere as she could be.

  
The red fairy nodded, nervous as he made his way to Coran who continued to hold Lance. It was reassuring that Allura and Pidge had faith in him but he didn’t want to mess this up. A lot was riding on him to make sure the prince didn’t suffer such a terrible fate. Holding out his wand and waving it light around the baby had Keith began his new gift.  


“Dear prince-” Keith said before taking it back and looking at the baby with a soft and caring face.

  
“Cherished prince, if fate may come true indeed shall you prick your finger on the spindle of the wheel. Fear not, for a ray of hope may shine through. Once pricked will you instead fall in deep sleep and not death. Time will come when your curse shall break with your true love’s kiss,” he spoke as a few sparkles formed around the baby before a small red light burst showing that his gift had been indeed granted.  


The room stayed eerily silent, so much to take in with what happened. Although it may have been silent everyone had one thought: with this curse now placed, what would their king do now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Besides the prologue I think you guys can start telling were it's my own writing and where it becomes the Disney lines, haha. But I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter and like that it is longer than the previous one. 
> 
> Comment are appreciated!


	3. A Hard Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the curse in place, the king had to make one of the most hardest decisions in his life. One that he never thought he'd make.

Chapter 2: A Hard Decision

 

It had been only a few days since Haggar had placed the curse on the baby prince. The people of Nalquod had been worried for their king as he had shut himself out from the world, for now. They knew their king had a lot on his shoulder; a decision that was either to let his child die at a young age or accept the evil fairy’s offer and end up bringing ruin to their kingdom. Was there another way around it? No one knew which only caused fear. Though some citizens tried to keep others calm, mentioning that the king’s trusted advisor and the king of Marmora would keep watch over him. Alas they worried nonetheless, genuinely concerned for their distraught king.

  
It came to no surprise that their king would finally make a rather strange rule sooner or later. He was told multiple times that his new law was rash and made no sense for the time being but the king had demanded that spinning wheels should be destroyed and would be outlawed from that day forward. Even so, the citizens did as was decreed since many understood his view point.

  
While the king had been doing what he could to figure out how to fix this whole mess, the fairies had their own little meeting among themselves.

 

“Can’t believe this actually happened,” mumbled Pidge, slouching on a couch as she stared up at the ceiling.

 

“What you mean? No shit it happened,” Keith grumbled as he stared outside by a nearby window.

 

“Keith, please, now’s not the time for such language,” Allura scolded.

  
“Uh, I think NOW is the perfect time! I mean that horrible hag actually did something that low! I feel like I’m in the right to be this pissed!”

 

“Look I know it’s difficult. Especially out of all people to do this it was Hon-” Allura tried to finish only to be quickly cut off.

 

“Don’t say it, Allura! I know what you’re going at and it’s only going to piss me off more!”

 

“Keith…” both Allura and Pidge said solemnly. Of course Keith was rather vocal about that certain subject, so Pidge tried to change the subject.

 

“Anyway, we barely have any idea how to help the little prince. Pretty much whatever we can come up with, Haggar’s sure to find a way to ruin it,” Pidge sighed.

 

“Yeah and the good ol’ king isn’t really helping by thinking burning up spinning wheels makes anything better,” Keith growled, still upset.

 

“I know, I know. Still the decision was his and if he wants to do that so be it,” Allura now sighed too, as she conjured up a cup filled with tea to try and relax.

 

The trio sighed, getting nowhere with this. What had been a few minutes felt more like hours as they tried to come up with something. Anything!

 

Then an idea hit one of them.

 

“I got it!” Allura exclaimed as she jumped to her feet.  


The other two turned to see what had suddenly brought this new mood.

 

“Got what?” asked Keith, now a bit calmer than before.

 

“It’s so simple! We’ll just-” Allura explained only to cut herself off as she took a moment to look around. She put her finger to her lips and made a small shush sound, all the while turning herself smaller and finding a small box to hide in. Both fairies just stared at each other for a moment before shrugging and doing the same, following their pink companion.

 

Once the trio got into the small box, Allura motioned them to come closer.

 

“Even the walls have ears…” she quietly spoke, making sure the coast was clear. Once she was satisfied, she brightened up again but made sure to keep her voice down. “We’ll just turn the prince into a flower!”

 

It took a moment for Keith and Pidge to process Allura’s idea before nodding and agreeing. At first.

 

“Oh yeah! If he’s a flower then how can he prick his finger?” Pidge said as she gave Allura a pat on the back, “Now I remember why you’re pretty much our leader!”

 

As the two joyfully laughed, it was Keith to be the one to realize the small problem in Allura’s plan.

 

“Yeah…until Haggar decides to send a frost our way and just…well you know,” he sighed, sitting down in a corner.

 

And then happiness was gone. Poof.

 

“I…ugh, yeah…she would do that…” Allura sighed in defeat.

 

“She always manages to ruin your most beautiful flowers…” Pidge commented as she sighed along.

 

“Well, back to square one…”Keith mumbled as he was playing with his wand.

 

“C’mon at least she had an idea, Keith,” Pidge snipped as she was starting to get a bit antsy.

 

“I never said she didn’t Pidge!”

 

“Yeah well your attitude sings a different tune.”

 

“Oh, great back with my attitude problem! You know that has nothing to do with it!”

 

“Well instead of shooting down ideas how about you come up with your own for once!”

 

“Hah! Like what? ‘Oh maybe we should turn him into a toad since Haggar expects us something beautiful from us~’,” Keith mocked as he sounded snobby. “Or maybe something more like ‘Why don’t we just watch over the tiny human until he’s old enough~’ Do any of those sound that good to you, Katie?”

 

“I told you not to call me that!”

 

“Hey you two! Now is not the time to-” Allura snapped before something inside hit her. “Wait a moment…Keith repeat what you said?”

 

“What? Katie?”

 

“No, no! One of your suggestions!”

 

“Allura, I wasn’t being ser-”

 

“Just repeat what you said!”

 

“Okay, okay! Jeez, who put iron on your seat today,” Keith groaned as he tried to recall his statement. “Um…something about watching over the prince until he’s older?”

 

“Exactly! Keith, you’re brilliant!” Allura exclaimed as she grabbed Pidge and Keith and pulled them into a big hug.

 

“Ah! Allura! I don’t see how Keith’s idea is brilliant exactly,” coughed Pidge as Allura was squeezing them rather hard.

 

“Don’t you get it? Haggar is expecting us to do something like turning the prince into a flower or some kind of animal. But what she isn’t expecting is that the three of us will be taking care of him!”

 

“I…you can’t be serious. Heck, even I wasn’t being serious!” Keith mentioned, breaking from Allura’s hug.

 

“Oh but I am! We’ll just take care of the prince until his sixteenth birthday. Once that time comes, we’ll easily return him home with no problems! Besides, how hard can it be to take care of a child?” Allura laughed.

 

At first it was silent before Pidge nodded and agreed as well.

 

“Yeah I think we might be able to pull this off!”

 

“Pidge, not you too!”

 

“C’mon, it’ll be easy especially since we’ll have the one thing those humans don’t have,” Pidge grinned.

 

“And that would be…?”

 

“Magic of course!”

 

“Actually, about that…” Allura butted in, rather unsettled for what she had to say next.

 

“Great, what is it?” Keith sassed her.

 

“Um…you two won’t like it very much buuuuut,” Allura said, twiddling with her fingers as she was obviously stalling, “We won’t be using magic…exactly…”

 

“WHAT?!” shouted both the red and green fairies, “ALLURA, ARE YOU INSANE?!”

 

“Hey, hey just listen to what I have to say!” she tried to calm down the other two, “If we use magic then Haggar will figure out where we are! And even worse, might end up finding out where the prince is if we use it all willy nilly!”

 

Both fairies wanted to counter her but what she said made sense. It would be hard to suppress all their magic, but if they kept it to a minimal then it’d be nearly impossible for Haggar to know what was up. Reluctantly, both nodded in agreement.

 

“Yeah, you make a good point…” muttered Pidge definitely not wanting to be on board if this was the plan they set. Yet if it was not only to save one life but even a whole country then why not? Sixteen years, or well fifteen at this point, couldn’t be that long…right?

 

And of course, Keith had to be the one to try and ruin this plan.

 

“Okay so let’s say we do go through this plan…you know the king is not going to agree. Like, at all,” he pointed out.

 

“Well…we don’t have that many choices now do we? I’ll do my best to explain to him our plan and with enough patience he’ll be sure to agree!”

 

* * *

  
“Absolutely NOT!” shouted Blaytz, offended by the fairies’ suggestion.

  
“Your highness if you’d let me just explain in more detail-” Allura tried to reason only to be interrupted by the king’s anger.

 

“NO! How dare you ask of me to give you my child so you can…can….play house with him and expect me to be okay with it?!” he continued to shout.

 

“Blaytz, calm down,” Ulaz glared at his friend. He understood how upset this made him yet it was no excuse to behave so unreasonable towards the fairies.

 

“Sire, understand that our intentions is not to fool around, we’re doing this for the greater good,” Pidge chimed in.

 

“I refuse, I will not give up my only child. He’s all I have left between myself and my wife. It was my own promise to her that I’d be the one keeping him safe!”

  
“My King, please hear them out…” Coran tried to come in, hoping that the fairies had a very good explanation for this proposal.

  
“And safe you shall keep him if you allow him to stay with us,” Keith spoke out. As much as he was the one to bring down ideas, it was also him that would bring up the logic behind this.

  
“Your majesty, if you allow the prince to grow up here in the castle would you not have to bring up his curse?” He started to explain, “Would you not end up having him fear his whole life, doubting his life if he knew of his curse? Then if you decide to keep his curse a secret, would he not only be upset but may accidentally get in harm’s way as he’s unaware?”

 

The room fell silent as Keith brought up his points. King Blaytz was frustrated but heard what he had to say. And it was no surprise that he tried to counter the argument.

 

“Then would it not be the same if you three are to take care of him? What difference does it make?”

 

“If you would allow Allura to continue her explanation then perhaps you could see our point,” Keith calmly explained. A small nod, he moved to let Allura finish what she had to say.

 

“King Blaytz, I can only imagine how difficult it must be to let go of your child especially at an early age. But, if you allow us take care of him until his sixteenth year we will do our best to keep him safe. There is a woodcutter’s cottage just on the outskirts of your kingdom, in the middle of the forest that should keep him secluded enough. As long as we raise him like any normal mortal and use no magic, Haggar will have no way to track us down,” she explained, very poised and relaxed as she did so. “It would also be great help to avoid any potential spies that may lurk around. An easier way than keeping him here and becoming suspicious of everyone.”

 

Yet the king wanted to keep finding excuses so he could just keep saying no to this idea. And he knew the more he objected this the more difficult he was making this for everyone. But his fatherly instincts took over with so many questions in his head but not enough answers.

 

“His majesty’s worries are more than valid but we strongly feel that this may be the best solution…” Pidge said, rather unsure herself if this really was the best solution.

 

“…and you’re all capable of taking care of a child? You’ll have no problems raising my son?” he asked, wanting to be certain of what he would decide next.

 

“Yes, of course! We’ll be putting all our efforts to not only raise him but teach him what he needs to know!” Allura answered rather quickly. She hated that she was lying to him and she knew Keith and Pidge would get on her case for doing so but they needed this to work. Otherwise, they’ll just end up running in circles if he could not put his faith in them.

 

Blaytz took some time to think this through. And think. And think. And think. What were merely a few minutes, felt like hours to everyone around. The silence was raising tension around the room, wondering what the king would say next. And finally he broke the silence.

 

“After thinking this through, it seems there is no other choice,” Blaytz spoke rather somber, “with what has been explained, it would be best…for Lance to stay with the good fairies.”

 

Ulaz and Coran were somewhat surprised with Blaytz since they had been trying to cooperate with the king as best as they could. He finally caved in. But neither men were exactly happy about this, knowing fully well how heartbreaking this was to the unfortunate king. Meanwhile, the trio of fairies sighed in relief as they were able to convince him yet the relief didn’t last too long. All looking at the king, it was disheartening to watch as they all knew the next question he’d ask.

 

“…How long do I have to see my son?” Blaytz muttered, not wanting to hear the answer.

 

“Ah well...it may take some time to make sure that the cottage is secure, that Lance has a room of his own, and…” Allura started to trail off, but knew that was avoiding his question. Inhaling deep she let out a sigh. “About a week…”

 

“I see…very well, then have what you need and inform me as soon as you’re ready…” the king said as he began to head out the room, “Also I have but one request to ask of you.”

 

“Of course, what is it your highness?” Allura replied.

 

“He’ll need to go under an alias, right?” he asked.

 

“It would help make things easier, yes…”

 

“…Rosario. Give him the name Rosario,” Blaytz mentioned just as he was about to leave, “It was the name his mother wanted to give him. Heh, only she liked Lance much more…”

 

With that King Blaytz left the room, leaving the rest of the group to feel guilty that they had cornered him to do this. But it would be for the best, for Lance and for the kingdom. Allura didn’t need to ask her two companions to stall when they made their preparations, all wanting to give the king as much more time as he had left to be with Lance.

 

During the week, Blaytz made sure to cherish every possible moment he had with Lance. It hurt so much he could only have taken care of the baby for one year. But he hoped this would work. If freeing him from this dreaded curse meant to keep him in hiding, so be it. And he’d never choose Lance’s freedom over a stupid proposition that may end up not only hurting him but their people too.

 

And finally the end of the week came. The fairies did what they could to make sure that everything was ready for their journey. They all agreed that leaving at the dead of night would be best, less likely for Haggar to find them even more. Even better, as the small baby was sound asleep making their travel all the safer. Blaytz cradled his son for one last time.

 

“Please…take care of him. Make sure he learns well and if he’s ever in any trouble that he learns it’s not the way to behave,” Blaytz mumbled as he tried his best to be strong but his eyes started to water up.

 

As painful as it was to watch, Allura took Lance from his arms and held him close. “Of course, we’ll make sure he turns out to be a great man someday.”

 

With a weak smile, the trio of fairies finally left the castle and made their way into the woods. Blaytz could see them for a while, only for them to leave farther and farther until finally they were much too far to spot.

 

It was the last time Blaytz would see his son for a very long while. Ulaz and Coran had been there for their friend, as he started to sob hard over losing his son. Unbeknownst to the two, this was the second time Blaytz had ever cried this hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going to be derailing from the original movie around here, so hopefully you guys enjoy what's been added. Will hopefully try to make sense out of it or be different enough.
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!


	4. The Early Years and a First Meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Small coincidences one day that will lead to a first meeting of two young children. How it goes might set off how their fates will intertwine from there on out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, Rosario = Lance. It's just a name change that might stick around for a while but this is a small heads up in case anyone becomes confused while reading.

Chapter 3: The Early Years and a First Meet

A few years had come and gone and all seemed quiet and calm, perhaps because it was rather too early to worry about the witch. But it was best to not to give her any chance to track them down. The fairies did their best to raise the baby on their own and so far it had been going well. It had been decided before they moved into the cottage that either Pidge or Allura would be the ones to head into town to gather the necessities. It was mostly due to both being able to keep hidden and blend in with the crowd, where as Keith might potentially bring unwanted attention. Something he wasn’t too thrilled with but ended up agreeing with.

And as the few short years passed, the good fairies began to enjoy and get use to taking care of the once infant prince to the now young child.

Unfortunately for them, they would soon realize that the older the child became the more restless and aware of his surrounding he would feel trapped in.

Today just happened to go downhill the moment Keith had been left in charge of the young boy since the other two happened to be very preoccupied with their own duties. Duties that just so happened to need them both to leave the forest for a while.

 

“I wanna go with Auntie Pidge and Auntie Allura!” Rosario whined as he tried to open the door that Keith had been currently keeping shut with one hand.

“Rosario, sit still! They’ll be back before you know it and stop making this so difficult!” Keith growled as he was frustrated with the child. 

“No! It’s not fair!” the small boy complained, “why do aunties get to leave but I can’t!?!"

“Rosario we already told you, you’re not old enough just yet!” 

“It’s not fair! It’s not fair!” little Rosario whined and even started to tear up, “I’ll be good if you let me.” 

“Life isn’t all fair, Rosario. Now settle down!” Keith sighed in annoyance.

“You’re a big meanie and dummy, Uncle Keif!”

“Yeah and what else is new with you?” he rolled his eyes.

 

Rosario was tearing up, a few drops falling down, as he pouted.

 

“Please! You guys barely let me leave around the house!”

“Kid, we’ve told you more than once already! When you get older we’ll go ahead and let you see more! But,” Keith shouted, so irritated that he wasn’t really thinking when he spoke up again, “But a dumb brat like you would never understand! How about you listen to us for once?!”

 

Unfortunately for him, he didn’t notice that Rosario was upset enough to actually go ahead and stomp on his foot pretty hard. Which gave Rosario enough time for Keith to let go of the door, the elder yelped in pain and held onto his foot.

 

“ROSARIO!”

“I HATE YOU! YOU GUYS ARE NEVER FAIR AND WON’T EVER LET ME DO ANYTHING!” the small child cried as he ran out of the cottage. He didn’t care that his uncle was calling out for him and was lucky enough that out of all the caretakers he had, Keith was the worst when it came to finding or catching up to him.

Rosario ran for quite a while, surprisingly, as he cried and actually ended up deeper into the forest. But he didn’t care right now he was just so upset at Keith, and his two aunts for that matter, for being complete jerks! So he was still young, sure, but it didn’t mean he had to stay put in just one area! As a four-year-old he was practically close to being independent so why not give him a bit more freedom? When the boy got tired enough he stopped and sat down near a tree only to continue crying.

 

* * *

 

Outside the forest there can be seen a couple of short figures as they seemed to be debating whether or not to enter the area.

 

“I honestly didn’t think you were gonna do this, I was hoping you were gonna back out of this when we got here-”

“Hunk.”

“I mean, c’mon why would you want to go into a deep dark scary forest-”

“Hunk.”

“And who knows what kind of animals we find. AH! What if the animals have rabies or-”

“HUNK!”

The boy named Hunk flinched a bit when his name was shouted out, causing him to stop talking.

 

“Look, I just need to prove a point is all. Dad thinks I’m lacking in skills after one mess up and I just need to show him that I can do it!” another young boy said as he was looking pretty determined into the forest. 

“Yeah, and I get that buuuut,” Hunk tried to argue holding onto his horse tight, “why do we have to do this? Why can’t you just hunt a rabbit in a nice clear field like a normal person?”

 

The young boy sighed as he looked over to his friend, “Because my dad’s hunted enough to know what animals come from where, even ones from other kingdoms.” He smiled a little as he decided to jump off his horse, “Besides, if you’re so scared then keep watch of the horses until I get back.”

“WHAT?! No, no, no, your majesty you can’t do this to me!” Hunk panicked, ready to cry any minute now. “If your dad finds out that I left you alone-” 

“Hunk, relax. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” the boy laughed, “And what have I told you about that? I said it was okay to call me by my name or nickname if it makes you that nervous.”

Hunk whined a little, “I rather you not go alone though…and fine, Takashi, but it sounds weird…”

 

“Hey how about this, give me an hour at most and if I’m not back then come looking for me, okay? Not like this is an enchanted forest or anything so I’ll be fine,” young Takashi waved off as he entered the forest much to Hunk’s dismay.

 

And for a while it was fine, a few birds chirped in the air and there were a couple of small rodents that scurried their way.  Yup everything was going to be just fine. Until about ten minutes later, when Takashi started to realize he had no idea where he was even going. So much for trying to be a big boy and show his father he could better himself.

He was wandering around and already getting tired since he wasn’t able to find the specific animal he was looking for. Groaning he sat down and tried to think where he could find a good spot.

It wasn’t until he thought he heard something, or rather, someone crying. That was weird; he didn’t think anyone came to this forest very often. He followed the source of the crying, wondering if perhaps someone was stuck in the forest. Ah, that’d be terrible but he was willing to forget his personal mission to help anyone. When the crying was loud enough he was in shock to see who it was. A little kid? How did a kid that young get here? Oh boy, maybe this seemed more serious than he thought.

Takashi gulped and carefully made his way over, tapping on the crying child’s shoulder. “Um, excuse me? Are you okay?” he asked hoping he could calm him down.

The small child gasped and looked over to see the young prince. He rubbed his eyes but scooted away from the prince. “Wh-Who are you? And I’m fine! I just…have something in my eyes!” he hiccuped, obviously lying since he wasn’t good at that.

Takashi couldn’t help but smile a little, the kid must want to appear like he’s tougher than letting on. He sighed and sat close to the boy, gently patting his shoulder. 

 

“You know, it’s okay to cry about something that upsets you,” he said, “And well I know we just met but not like I’ll go around telling people you were crying. So do you wanna say what made you cry?”

 

The small boy looked over at him, blinking a few times before he started to cry again. Oh jeez, maybe he messed up alre-

 

“U-Uncle Keif called me d-dumb and a b-brat!” he cried, “a-all because I wanted to go outside for a little bit! I-It’s not fair!”

 

Takashi blinked and felt awkward now. He didn’t know what to say really so he just pressed him further. “Okay, well calling you dumb and brat seems uncalled for. Kinda sounds like a mean guy, huh?” he asked trying to calm the boy down, “And did he say why you couldn’t leave? He’s not…well…t-trapping you in the house is he?” he asked rather nervously. He really hoped this kid was okay but definitely would see if he could bring it up to his dad.

Rosario looked over at him and pouted as he stared at the ground. “N-No! He’s not trapping me! B-But…it’s ‘c-cause my…m-my aunties are not home…and I’m not allowed to leave when they’re g-gone,” he admitted, “and maybe he’s m-mad because I stepped on his foot.”

The prince looked surprised, slight relief that nothing bad was happening to the kid, but nodded. “Hm, well firstly I think you should apologize for hurting him,” he said, Rosario nodding a little but pouted. “And maybe he doesn’t want you to get lost? I think if I was your uncle I’d want to make sure you were safe,” he explained, smiling softly, “I wouldn’t want you to wander off in the forest and end up lost or hurt.”

Rosario looked in awe and slowly nodded, rubbing his eyes again. “I-I guess…” he mumbled, “b-but I don’t even get to leave that much! I just wanna see m-more…”

Takashi, unaware that Rosario didn’t live outside the forest, took it as the young kid wanting to explore beyond the kingdom and patted his shoulder.

 

“Ah well, maybe one day you will,” he told him, “but maybe you need to wait until you’re a little older. The world is really big, and, well, you’re really small. For now. Don’t you want to at least be prepared before you go explore out into the world? Besides, I hear there are lots of magical creatures that roam around. Don’t want to accidentally get yourself in trouble with them, right?”

 

The small boy nodded, smiling and feeling a little better, but was still hiccuping from crying so much. “You’re really nice…um…” the boy asked, slightly confused since they never introduced each other.

 

“Oh right! My name’s…” Takashi said but paused. Oh jeez, the kid might freak out if he found out he was a prince from a neighboring kingdom. And knowing how his reputation was growing he wouldn’t be surprised if the boy started to treat him differently. He hated to lie and maybe one day he’d come clean about who he was. For now he needed to lie about himself. “I-It’s Shiro!” he said, using the nickname his father gave him.

“Shiro? That’s a pretty name!” the boy smiled and giggled, “I like it! Oh, my name’s Rosario!”

 

Shiro nodded and smiled back, “Really? I like that name too! Almost sounds like rose!”

 

They both giggled as both seem to get along just fine. Rosario scooted closer to Shiro and hugged the other boy’s arm. Of course Shiro was caught off guard and looked down, giving Rosario a confused look.

 

“You’re really nice, Shiro,” the boy smiled, “thank you for making me feel better…”

“Hey, don’t worry about,” Shiro smiled and patted the other’s head gently, “it’s fine to be upset and cry if you need to. But I think I enjoy seeing you smile more.”

 

It seemed like time was going slow, Rosario still hugging Shiro’s arm and Shiro patting Rosario’s head. But he noticed that time must’ve gone by faster than he thought, knowing he must be worrying Hunk.

 

“Hey, I think we should start heading back out of the forest,” he said looking down at Rosario, “I can take you back home if you need me too.”

 

Rosario looked up at Shiro in confusion as he let go of Shiro’s arm and stood up. “Um, I don’t mind if you did so. But Uncle Keif doesn’t like strangers…” he explained, “and I don’t-”

Before he could say more, a loud call from the distance could be heard.

 

“Rosario! Rosario! Please come back! Look, I messed up but you need to come back!” the voice, clearly distressed, called out further. 

“O-Oh, that’s Uncle Keif!” he said as he started to head over. Before he could leave, Shiro quickly grabbed his arm.

“Wait! When can I see you again?” Shiro asked, liking the small moment he and Rosario shared.

“I-I don’t know…I don’t think Uncle or Aunties will let me out too much for leaving…” he said sadly.

“Please, I want to see you again,” Shiro said holding onto the boy’s hand, “I want to get to know you more. You know, like become my friend?”

 

Rosario stared at him wide eyed, especially since he never really had a friend before. But he nodded looking back to make sure Keith wasn’t close enough yet.

 

“I-I wanna be your friend too!” he said, “but…” he paused and thought. As much as he hated to worry his caretakers, he also wanted to see Shiro again. So he’d have to sneak out to see him. “Here, tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow?” Shiro asked. 

“Yeah! And right here! We can leave marks and come back to see each other!” Rosario smiled.

 

It was rather sudden but it was better than nothing.

 

“Alright, tomorrow at this spot,” he agreed and let go of the boy.

 

Before either of them could say their proper goodbyes, Keith called out for Rosario once more. So the boy gave a small wave before leaving quickly to find Keith. All while Shiro waited, at least long enough to not hear any more calls, and left out of the forest.

 

* * *

 

Keith continued to call out for Rosario, definitely in a panic.

 

“Oh god, Allura and Pidge are gonna kill me…” he said to himself, “Augh but it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have said that to him.”

 

Before he called out again, Rosario came rushing and clung onto Keith.

 

“I’m here! I’m here! A-And I’m sorry…” Rosario cried as he tried not to let the tears fall down his face again, “I didn’t m-mean to hurt you…”

 

Keith sighed but knelt down and hugged Rosario tight.

 

“Shh, shh, I shouldn’t have called you those things and I wasn’t thinking…” he cooed, patting the boy’s back, “But it doesn’t excuse my actions. I’m sorry too.”

 

He gently picked up the boy as they started to head back to the cottage.

 

“Are you okay? You didn’t run into any strangers did you?” Keith asked, somewhat worried that the kid might have caught the eye of unwanted attention.

 

Of course this worried the boy. He didn’t want to lie, even if it was Keith, but he knew if he told the truth it’d be a lot harder for him to make any kind of friends. So biting his lip and trying his best he shook his head.

 

“No…I was, uh, alone…” he mumbled, “but I was thinking a lot and why you don’t let me leave…”

 

Keith sighed as he patted his head, “We just want to protect you, I promise we’ll let you out more often when we think you’re ready…”

Rosario nodded and held onto Keith tight. But his guardian sighed and smiled at him.

 

“You know, if you keep what happened between us a secret, maybe I can ask Allura and Pidge if they think you can go out and explore a little more,” he said, mostly to avoid backlash from the two. But he also thought since Rosario managed not to get caught or mangled maybe he could go out a little more and by himself.

 

The boy giggled a little and looked at Keith mischievously. “Is it because Auntie Allura is going to crush you if she finds out?” he giggled.

Keith wasn’t laughing since he knew Allura really would crush him. He was actually sweating in fear. “Pl-Please, I don’t need an early grave…”

Rosario just giggled and nodded as the two finally arrived back home.

 

* * *

 

Shiro was just making his way out of the forest when he ran into Hunk, clearly looking panicked.

 

“Takashi! Oh thank goodness you’re alive and okay,” Hunk cried as he went over and hugged him.

 

The prince was taken aback by this but awkwardly hugged his friend back. “Yeah I am, I said I would be, right?” he laughed.

 

“You were gone for so long! I was starting to think you got lost or a wild beast ate you or-” 

“Hunk! I’m perfectly fine! See?” Takashi said as he showed that there were no injuries on him. Which lucky for him managed to help calm down the other boy.

“Okay well glad you weren’t mauled by a beast but why were you gone for so long? And did you finally catch what you were hunting for?” Hunk asked despite the answer being obvious since the prince came back with nothing.

 

And poor Takashi barely realized this, he face palmed and groaned. Yup, that was what he was forgetting just perfect. So much for trying to please his father.

 

“No...though I did meet someone…” he said, glancing back at the forest, “but I’ll tell you on the way over. And whatever you do, don’t bring up what I say to my father. It’ll be a hassle to deal with and I would like to try having a friendship my father won’t force upon.”

“Ah, wait there was someone else in there? Takashi, what if-”

“I said I’ll explain it, Hunk! But we better get going, otherwise Father might send an unnecessary search party for us,” the prince explained and he and Hunk rode back to the kingdom. Oh, he had a lot to talk about the small boy he met in the forest. And he was really hoping to see him again soon.

 

* * *

 

Far off in a desolated and unruly area, where wild life was scarce and the greenery had little to no existence, stood a towering yet ruined castle. Most who would even dare to go near it would believe it’s abandoned and haunted. Those who believed this were more than wrong. Yes, there were residents who were alive in such a dreary castle. It was not much, but a few servants moved around here and there. Yet who lived here? It was none other than the evil fairy herself, Haggar. Of course, Haggar was not the only ruler here. Her son, Lotor, who was right in between the age of young prince Lance and Takashi, was rather excited this night. He had been for a few nights now as his mother told him of how his future partner to be looked like.  

 

“Please tell me how he looks again!” Lotor asks excitedly. 

“Calm yourself, my son. I told you that I can only do so much,” his mother replied as she sat on the foot of his bed. “Let’s see…right now he’s still rather young. He has tanned and smooth skin only to become more beautiful as he gets older, soft brown hair, and sparkling eyes that I’m sure the older he’ll get the more lovely they’ll become.”

“Will he be really beautiful when we get older?” Lotor asked with hope in his eyes.

“Both you and he shall be the loveliest couple my dear,” Haggar told him, brushing her fingers through his hair.

“Mother, when will I meet him? I really want to see him!”

“In time, dear. Now is not possible,” she said, sighing a bit. As much as she would love to reveal more information to Lotor, she had her limits. The bond she and the other fairies had before had been severed horrendously and her connection to them wasn’t as strong as it once was. But it didn’t matter. She could care less about her bond with those three.

 

Instead throughout the night, she would explain how great of a ruler her son would make and how he and Lance’s marriage would bring back Daibazaal from its ruins. It would be perfect. He and Lance were meant for each other, even if the boy’s father could not see that. But the evil fairy would make sure her son got his way, no matter what the cost may be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this chapter was satisfying to you guys and happy that there's a glimpse of how the young boys' lives have been going so far! I'm also thinking about possibly making mini chapters so if you guys are interested feel free to let me know! Thank you guys so much for continuing to read this!
> 
> Comments are appreciated!


	5. Mini Chapter 3.5: Former Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small glimpse of how a wise fairy once had been before becoming evil and corrupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A mini/side chapter about Honerva before she became Haggar. Meaning no Shiro or Lance this chapter, sorry for that. Still hope you guys enjoy this!

Mini Chapter 3.5: Former Bonds

 

It almost seemed too good to be true to know that the three good fairies had been very close to Haggar at some point in their lives. Except when they first knew her, she wasn’t Haggar. Long ago, the evil fairy was once known as Honerva to all kingdoms. And there was a good reason she had been well known so far and wide.

 

Honerva was once the most powerful and ambitious fairy there had ever been. She wanted to get a grasp at all magic and use her knowledge to help others. And for a long while that had been the case. Any person, magical or non, that would ask for her help would receive it. To her, spreading knowledge was more important as others could learn from this.

 

Because she loved to share her knowledge onto others, she also took on many students that were more than determined to better themselves. But only a few had ever made an impact on her. Those few were Allura, Keith, and Katie. With these three students, she treated them as her own kin.

 

Allura had the most potential to become Honerva’s successor. The powerful fairy indeed saw great things in Allura and taught her the more advanced magic to be known. And Allura was more than grateful to be taught and picked up on these techniques easily, wanting to improve and maybe even impress her master. Their bond had been so strong that they eventually had the ability to foresee what one or the other had been doing. Which was how the mentor was able to see when her student was lying about practicing, much to Allura’s dismay.

 

Keith had been in the middle towards Honerva, not exactly treating her like a goddess as some had done but never disrespecting her. He understood how powerful and knowledgeable she had been and would do any task she asked of him. She had more than earned that level of respect from him. Although he wouldn’t admit it, he definitely found some kind of parental love for her.

 

Katie had been the one to be treated like a daughter the most with Honerva, and during that time it was bliss. Katie once had beautiful and long flowing hair, which Honerva would love to brush for her on a daily basis. She even gave cute little names for her, such as “my Katie” or “precious Katie”. Katie definitely felt parental love for her and would even occasionally call her mom.

 

In due time, Honerva eventually fell in love. With a king nonetheless! His name was Zarkon, a powerful yet kind king. He was once known to be a great ally for many as he had strong armies while being completely understanding towards others. He had many bonds with others but his strongest one was with Honerva. It was almost like they had been in sync with each other, understanding what it meant to gain and give their strengths to others. Their love bloomed over the years which would be both their uprise and eventual downfall.

 

Changes with the great fairy occurred over the years, but they were too subtle to notice until it was too late. Due to Honerva’s ambitions, she eventually sought out what dark magic was like. Believing her skills were more than enough to keep her from becoming corrupted, she pursued this knowledge further. And for a while, it seemed to work as she was able to have some control over how dark magic could be used. But with each new discovery that she made, the more and more obvious it became that the corruption was overtaking her.

 

What didn’t help was that with such great knowledge many would love to have used this for war and other dastardly deeds. Before, she’d simple refuse as she knew how others were quick to turn on each other and how knowledge like that should not be used as such. But with her mind becoming more and more corrupted, her refusals eventually could be persuaded with a bargain.

 

Honerva’s relationship with the three fairies came to a horrible and crashing reality when they could no longer deny that their once great mentor had become the thing she hated. Katie was the first to take it hard, her mother-daughter relationship with her felt like it was all for nothing. She denounced her own name and went by Pidge from that day forward, unable to stand the memories that came with “Katie.” Allura was the second as her master betrayed their trust and morals for something far more evil. Although Allura still takes to heart with what the other had once taught her, she also couldn’t deny how it pained her as well. But Keith seemed to have taken this the worst. When having met and studied under her, he was quite open and a bit more interactive with others (or at least tried to be). But because of Honerva’s betrayal, he made invisible walls around him, severing his trust with nearly everyone. He could only count on Allura and Pidge but even he had his limits with them. Once playful and great at holding conversations with them, he became more serious and developed trust issues with his once close friends.

 

The only one to not be emotionally affected by this in a negative way was Zarkon, but this was due to Honerva having corrupted the man as well. He had completely trusted her judgement, too blinded by love to see how worse she became and soon enough became just as corrupted as well. Their corruption is what eventually became the downfall of Daibazaal, unfortunate for the once proud kingdom. It only became worse when it turned out there were many of Zarkon’s subjects that seemed to agree with him and his wife’s decisions. This only lead to the kingdom being infamous for their betrayals and backstabbing others when in need of alliances.

 

In the end, Honerva, the once well-known powerful and knowledgeable fairy that had good intentions and huge goals, became the infamous Haggar that was hateful and selfish in her own right. And the name Haggar? It was a name given by the three fairies for the name Honerva would not be tarnished any more. For them, Honerva was long gone and this wicked fairy was the evil Haggar that replaced her. A fate no one saw and yet broke so many people.

 

In a bizarre twist though, Haggar and Allura could still see what had been going on with the other. Their visions were very foggy and neither was completely able to see exactly what was going on, but this link foolishly gave Allura some hope that Honerva was still there in Haggar. The sad truth: it was unknown and Haggar mostly used this to her advantage against the trio. Luckily for Allura, Haggar couldn’t use this as often as she would like since their bond had been severely damaged. But to her, and by extension Pidge and Keith, it only seemed to matter now that Lance was someone they needed to protect. Otherwise, who cares? Because Honerva no longer did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed that bit of background for Haggar. Wanted to try to explain a few things, if you guys like these chapters that aren't directly towards the main story then I wouldn't mind doing more. 
> 
> Anyway comments are appreciated!


	6. We've Met More Than Once

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years continue to pass and love blooms during that time. When it's Rosario's 16th birthday he has plans that he could only pray go well, unknown to how his world will turn upside down soon.

Chapter 4: We’ve Met More Than Once

 

As promised, little Rosario and Shiro had met up the next day. This was a difficult task for both boys, to say the least. After running away like that, Keith definitely wanted to keep a closer eye on Rosario. And in Shiro’s case, his father definitely noticed the time frame he was gone and was disappointed with how poor his hunting trip went. Yet somehow, both boys were able to get away from their parents from right under their noses. Of course it was hard and even risky but it was worth it.

 

Both boys were more than happy to meet up again. But as much as they wanted to get to know each other and play together, their caretakers would more than likely interfere. So now they needed to come up with a way to see each other without being noticed. It took awhile but the two boys came to an agreement; they would meet up on Rosario’s birthday. Why was this? Because it was the most convenient day for both of them to have enough time to leave without being noticed.

 

For Rosario, his three caretakers were always busy on his birthday.  _ Always. _ He wouldn’t see them until it was sunset, the three of them telling him he needed to stay in the house until they returned. So little Rosario was use to having to celebrate his birthday around the evening. And was definitely bored during the day.

 

For Shiro, his father was there to comfort King Blaytz and dedicated most of his time to him that day. Of course Shiro wasn’t going to say that exactly to the other boy (how would you even explain that your father is helping the king of the country without exposing yourself as a prince?)  so he just mentioned that his father was called by the king for some tasks and would not be available until the evening.

 

And so each year, on Rosario’s birthday, would they continue to meet up and spend their day together. They often talked about the passing events that the year brought them, days that stood out more than others, and general things that they liked, disliked, feared, or enjoyed. Rosario couldn’t have asked for a better day than his own birthday now, having all this time to have a friend he’d learn he was slowly falling in love with the passing years.

* * *

During one year, a bit after Rosario’s 10 th birthday, did unfortunate ( but to some, rather good) news come up. It turned out that Haggar grew weaker and weaker in the years and eventually passed away. The three fairies only knew of this because Allura had mentioned that her connection with Haggar suddenly stopped. At first, they tried to come up with Haggar finally not needing them anymore. But Allura had countered this by explaining if that were to be the case, the loss of connection would have felt different. The way she tried to explain it was that although they did not interact with her anymore, the bond slowly fades. But when she felt the sudden loss, like a candle being flickered out, she knew that their former mentor had finally passed. The three fairies were ultimately conflicted on how to feel about this, but did weep for their mentor. For even as little hope they had to reform Haggar, she now died as the wicked fairy that was so hated instead of their beloved mother that was once Honerva.

 

Lotor was the one that had taken his mother’s death the hardest. This was not a surprise; after all she did end up raising him on her own for the most part. He knew little of his father, only by stories told to him every now and then, so his mother is all he ever knew to love and care for. As she lay on her deathbed, she told him how excellent he was at learning all she knew but there was one thing she still needed to teach him. It was the spell to lift the curse off of Prince Lance. Now she didn’t tell this to him because she had a sudden change in heart. In fact, the only reason she revealed this to her son was only if the King Blaytz finally given up on his stubborn behavior and have her son marry his. Lotor was more than willing to oblige to his mother’s wishes. Once his mother had passed on, this would be his one and only time he’d ever weep for another.

* * *

And just like that, more time had passed by like in a flash. Rosario had now grown into a fine young man, indeed beautiful as had been predicted, and more excitedly for him it was his 16 th birthday today. He had so much planned, so much he was ready to be let known. But first he woke up to his caretakers wanting him to seemingly rush out of the house.

 

“Well good morning to you guys too,” Rosario laughed as he got dressed for the day.

 

“Ah yes, good morning indeed! I bet you must be excited for-” Pidge explained but realized she was gonna spoil the surprise they wanted to have for him.

 

“-Excited to go pick some fruit and berries for us!” Allura chimed in, laughing a bit awkwardly.

 

“Oh? Didn’t I just pick some yesterday?” Rosario teased as he figured out rather fast why they would want to kick him out of the cottage.

 

“Yes of course but uh…” Allura slightly panicked.

 

“We just need more, and take your time with it,” Keith said, rolling his eyes but smiled.

 

Rosario chuckled and nodded, getting ready to leave outside and carry his basket. “Very well then, I’ll be home later.”

 

“Of course, of course! Take your time dear!” Allura said, waving him off and finally sighing in relief when Rosario was out of sight.

 

Once outside, Rosario hummed happily as he walked through the forest, looking around while picking some fruit every now and then. At the moment Rosario had been lost in his own imagination. For one, he couldn’t wait until he saw Shiro again. Over the years he noticed how much the other boy, now man, had grown to be. And if he were to ever admit it, he knew he was head over heels for him. Shiro had become a close friend (well his only human friend) to him but the more he got to know him the more he couldn’t stop himself with falling for him. Was it a bit cliché? Perhaps, but he didn’t care. He loved and trusted him more than anything or anyone in the world.

 

So it was quite an understatement to say that he was just a little nervous about meeting the man. He cherished Shiro so much but he also wanted him to get to know Keith, Allura, and Pidge. Sure he explained who they were and how they would treat him. But if he was ever going to get the chance to be out there and be his own man, he needed to try this at least. It would be rather difficult to explain why he was bringing home a stranger to them but he trusted that once Shiro was there, they’d have the strength to do so.

 

Rosario distracted himself by sitting down and sighing, a few critters popping out and gathering around him. He smiled as he petted a few of them as these were Rosario’s other friends.

 

“Why hello to you all,” he said as he stretched a bit, “Welp, today is both exciting and nerve racking…”

 

His animal friends tilted their heads in confusion, Rosario more than happy to explain.

 

“Well besides being my birthday and all, today I’m going to ask Shiro to come meet my family. He’s been such an amazing guy, I just want him to meet them.”

 

A few birds chirped happily while a couple of the other animals seemed confused still.

 

“I guess I’m just nervous to how everyone’s going to react. I don’t doubt Shiro would like to meet them but we haven’t really talked about this either. It doesn’t help that I can already imagine those three flipping out once I tell them I’m bringing a guy home,” he explained further on. “Ugh, I just want them to understand…that’s why I want Shiro to come over today.”

 

The animals seemed content with this and nuzzled themselves close to Rosario for comfort. He was more than appreciative to have them here. Now he was just a tad bit impatient as he was waiting for Shiro to come by. So out of silliness and boredom, Rosario decided to dance and sing about meeting someone in a dream.

* * *

Shiro was just entering the forest on foot as he began to seek out his friend. Shiro himself was a tad nervous too, but not in any similar reason to why Rosario was. He’d been nervous as his father wanted him to return soon, his father having suspected that his son would attempt to leave for a while. He mentioned something important would happen today and that was usually a red flag for Shiro. But he wanted to spend time with Rosario first and that is what he was going to do.

 

He trailed the forest for some time, hoping he didn’t suddenly lose track of where he was headed. It wasn’t until he started to hear someone…sing? Yeah, he could hear some singing in the distance. And so he followed that singing, rushing by toward the direction of it.

 

The closer he got the more clearly he could hear the singing.

 

“… _ But if I know you, I know what you’ll do _ ,” he heard the voice sing, “ _ You’ll love me at once~ _ ”

 

Shiro smiled and decided to join in as he heard some of this song before.

 

“ _ The way you did once upon a dream~ _ ” both sang but startled Rosario a bit before he turned to see Shiro.

 

“Shiro! Don’t scare me like that,” Rosario chuckled as he went over and hugged him tightly.

 

“Couldn’t help it, seemed like your song needed to be a duet,” Shiro smiled and held him close.

 

Both were in each other’s embrace for a while, enjoying their moment together like this. But eventually Rosario pulled away, holding tight onto Shiro’s hand.

 

“I’m so glad you finally came!” he smiled brightly, “I always miss you so much…”

 

“And I miss you as well,” Shiro replied as he walked along with him, hand in hand.

 

“Ah, I just…I just really need to tell you something!” Rosario mention as he held onto Shiro’s hand tighter.

 

“Oh? What do you want to tell me?”

 

“Well…how would you feel about meeting my family?” he asked, turning to the other, “I know it’s sudden! But I just really want you guys to meet since…well…” Rosario blushed slightly, embarrassed as he couldn’t just simply tell Shiro he loved him.

 

Shiro on the other hand seemed to have frozen in place. Of course he didn’t have a problem with that, the problem was how to get his father to not notice. Yet something in him felt that he shouldn’t care about that. Because whether Shiro was going to admit it any time soon or not, he too loved Rosario.

 

“Ah…well um when did you want me to meet them?”

 

“Today actually…they don’t know yet because I want this to be a surprise! Is there…a problem with that?” Rosario asked fearfully.

 

“No! Of course not, but I need to do something in a little while…but I’ll try to be here as soon as I can,” Shiro smiled trying to reassure him. Although he knew this could get him into trouble, Shiro decided that he would go through that risk and be straight forward with his father about this. Whatever the news his father awaited him, he would listen. But for Rosario, he would sacrifice anything.

 

“Ah, good! Then let’s meet back at the cottage! I think I’ve told you about it before right?” Rosario asked happily.

 

“Yes, of course, but for now,” Shiro mentioned, “Let’s have some more alone time. And maybe get to mention what’s been going on with you over this past year. Was it any fun?”

 

And both started to slow dance with each other, Rosario getting excited as he brought up what his past year had been like. All the while, Shiro of course was listening but at the same time his nerves about his father seemed to increase. When his father was not in a happy mood, it was usually the worst time to deal with him. But if it was going to prove how much he cared and loved Rosario then he would go to great lengths to do so. He just wasn’t sure how his father would take any of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to apologize for not updating yesterday. A lot of stuff just happened to come up, so I'm sorry for being a day late. Hoping it doesn't happen again. Also, would anyone be interested in another mini chapter? It'll mostly go in depth of how the three fairies and Lotor reacted to when Haggar died. Other than that I hope this chapter was enjoyable to you guys!
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!


	7. Preparing and Finding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio of fairies do their best to get a nice surprise ready for Rosario's 16th birthday. While they get ready they don't realize that another is also preparing for the birthday boy but not in a way anyone would expect.

Chapter 5: Preparing and Finding

 

As soon as Rosario left the cottage, Allura sighed heavily and leaned back at the door.

 

“Phew! Thought he’d never leave!” she said as she dusted off.

“Right, because it’s not like he’s suspicious at all,” Keith retorted as he yawned, “so, you know, what we’re gonna do then?”

“Mhmm, Pidge and I thought about it all night and we’re going to throw a small surprise for Rosario!” she smiled as she high fived Pidge.

“And why was I left out of this?” Keith asked, pretty unamused by this.

“We would’ve but we figured you’d accidentally let it slip up, especially after the last time we tried to surprise him,” Pidge snickered.

“It was ONE time and you both still hold that against me?!” he growled but pouted and sighed. “So what are we having for a surprise?”

“Oh it’s simply wonderful! I’ll be making him a suit fit for a prince! And Pidge will be baking a cake for him!” Allura said happily.

“Wow, okay quite a few problems with that. One, since when do any of us know how to sew? We’ve always bought our clothes! Two, Pidge never cooks yet you think it’s a good idea to have her bake a cake? And three…” Keith was listing off, “what the hell am I supposed to be doing then?!”

“Oh Keith, you’re such a stubborn pessimist,” Allura half joked, “Sewing doesn’t look that hard! Besides the outfit is simple enough so I doubt it’ll be that difficult!”

“And cooking is a science, just gotta follow the instructions and it should be all good!” Pidge smirked, looking like she had this in the bag.

“As for you, well how else am I supposed to make the outfit? Just using air around us? Besides, you may be taller but I can’t fit the outfit on me and Pidge is the shortest. So you’ll have to do,” Allura smiled and she poked Keith’s nose.

 

Keith groaned and rubbed his temples, he really couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Tell me we can at least use some kind of magic? It’s been long enough we-”

 

“Absolutely not!” Allura snapped at him, “This may be over soon but we are not going to chance it! Haggar…Haggar might be gone, but her son is still out there! Who knows what he’s been up to?”

 

Keith took a step back but sighed. As much as this was clearly going to end horribly, Allura had a point. The evil fairy may be gone but she still had a child that she raised. And for all they knew, he could be looking for the hidden prince at this very moment. He crossed his arms before nodding.

 

“Fine…I’m telling you this is a bad idea going on our own with this but if you’re so insistent then let’s do it your way,” he said, Allura and Pidge cheering.

“Trust us Keith! We’ll have this down in no time!” both fairies told him with the biggest smile on their faces.

 

* * *

 

It had been years since Lotor was last told of how his beloved husband to be looked. The delusional prince had ever been yearning to finally meet him, claim him as his own. It was difficult to say the least, his mother would try her best to describe him. And for a while it was enough but today would be the day he could take his hand in marriage. That old king would have to be completely crazy if he was to actually let this curse go through. If he loved his son so much, surely he’d let Prince Lance marry him.

And why wouldn’t he? Lotor had this idea for years that Lance must’ve been given the same amount of noticeable yet vague enough descriptions of who he was. Yet his mother never told him that his prince in waiting was actually hidden for years. So now here was Lotor preparing to bring home his husband to be.

Of course he did have a problem. It was rather late when he found out but it did eventually become known to him that Prince Lance was missing for so many years. An issue his mother was trying to solve on her own but ended up failing when she passed away. But it mattered not to Lotor for he sent his best guards and soldiers to go forth and find him. Yet today he was definitely restless since even his best had still yet to find him! Having been so desperate he sent out his mother’s beloved cat, Kova, to go and find the prince. It may have been strange, yes, but Kova was no ordinary cat. Kova had the ability to show others what he could see and sense. It was a stretch to send the cat but Lotor would not wait any longer.

 

“Soon, my Lance, we’ll be together,” the young man spoke as he finished up another painting, “my soldiers may have failed me but I trust Kova to find you. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’re just as excited to see me. Your foolish caretakers are to blame for hiding you but today’s the day.”

 

Lotor set aside his painting with the others he’s made over the years, his own version of what Lance may look like. If anyone, especially Lance, were to see this it would be scarily accurate to how Lance looked now. Lotor could only imagine him in his dreams, making today even more desirable to finally have the man marry him.

 

“Believe me Lance, if I can’t find you then I’ll be damned and burn down every kingdom there is until you’re found,” Lotor spoke as he made his way towards a window and looked off in the distance. “Perhaps it would sadly be too late, my mother’s curse is powerful after all, but true love’s kiss is all it will take. And I am your true love so all I ask is that you wait for me, for no other can have you.”   
  


* * *

  
To say the cottage looked like a disaster was an understatement of the century. For one, the kitchen was a complete mess. Pidge may have tried to follow the recipe but because of her lack of cooking skills, she didn’t realize how items were to go in nor how fast you were normally supposed to go at it. Two, Allura’s outfit for Rosario, well…if tattered clothes and rags were in fashion this year she was doing a great job then! And finally, Keith was nowhere happy with any of this especially since he had pins and needles sticking out from him all over.

Allura did her best to play this off as if nothing was as horrendous as it was now.

 

“It’s…not bad for our first time, right?” she asked, awkwardly smiling, “I’m sure I can just re-adjust this for him and the cake looks edible enough.”

 

Pidge just sighed, she knew Allura was trying to be nice but even she could see what a complete mess it was. But Keith had enough and started to take off the horribly made outfit.

 

“You’re an absolute liar and idiot if you think this isn’t all that bad!” he sneered, “I’ve had enough! You can’t sew for shit and Pidge can’t bake to save her life! I’m getting the wands because at least it’s more useful for us than whatever the hell all this is!”

 

Keith stomped over to grab said wands, Allura sighing in defeat while Pidge looked over at her.

 

“Well I hate to say it but I think he’s right,” Pidge sighed.

“Yeah…yeah I know. But at least we tried, right?” Allura said while trying to smile.

“Here they are, good as new!” Keith smiled triumphantly while waving the wands back and forth.

 

Allura quickly went over and smack him over the head. “Keith, be careful with them!”

The red fairy groaned and glared at Allura as he was about to argue with her, she covered his mouth.  
  


“We may be using these again but we still need to be careful!” she said pointing at the open windows. “We need to cover up every nook and cranny got it!”

 

Keith and Pidge nodded, the trio closing all doors and windows as well as using whatever they could to block any and all spots that could get them noticed. Once they were done enough, Allura handed each their respected wands.

 

“Great! Now we can get back to our tasks and fix everything up!” she squealed joyfully, “So back to getting Rosario’s suit ready!”

“And finally getting this cake nice and done!” Pidge said as she waved her wand and had all the ingredients up and ready to start over on the cake.

“Then I guess I can-” Keith tried to say before Allura butted in.

“You can clean around this place as we finish up!” the pink fairy smirked as she was waving her wand to get the materials set up and have them sew on their own to the desired look she wanted.

 

Keith just glared at her, almost like he wanted to throw daggers at her but he sighed and rolled up his sleeves as he animated the cleaning supplies to start sweeping and mopping around the place.

While each of them had been getting close to finishing, Keith paused for a moment that briefly caught Allura’s attention.

 

“Keith, is something the matter?” she asked while glancing a few times to make sure the outfit was going well.

“We keep calling him ‘Rosario’ but he won’t be that anymore. We’ll need to start calling him Lance,” Keith mentioned, seeming pretty solemn when he said that.

 

This ended up catching Pidge’s attention too, a small frown on her face as she realized what that meant.

 

“Oh yeah…he’ll be returning to his father today and resume his duty as a prince,” she said, obviously sad now.

“N-Now you guys, we aren’t going to be upset about this!” Allura tried to say but was choking up, “We all promised that we wouldn’t be like this when the day finally came!”

“I’m just more surprised that Keith’s upset about this,” Pidge smirked a bit.

“Yeah well, he may be a brat but…I mean it wasn’t all that bad when taking care of him,” he sighed.

“It almost seems like it was yesterday when we started to take care of him as a little baby,” Pidge reminisced.

“Mhmm, almost fifteen years. How time flies,” Allura mentioned, “but I think those were fifteen wonderful years…”

 

The three fairies sighed in bliss as they were remembering all the good times they had with little Rosario. It wasn’t too long before Allura realized that they were perhaps in Memory Lane for too long, clapping her hands to get their attention.

 

“Hey, we need to get back to our tasks! It won’t be long before Rosario comes back!” she told them both, getting back to work.

 

And just like that, everything was set up nicely. The cake looked so wonderful and tasty to eat, the cottage was probably the cleanest it could be, and his birthday gift had been the most gorgeous outfit that could have ever been made. Well. Almost.

 

“Uh, yeah, quick question, Allura,” Keith gave her a questionable look.

“What is it Keith?”

“So…why is his outfit red?” he asked.

“I just thought red would be a lovely color on him! He always did pick out such lovely shades of red roses!”

“Yeah, for you! His favorite color is blue, so why not making it that?” he asked, waving his wand to turn the color blue now. This seemed to offend Allura.

“Excuse me?! Red looks just fine! It’s a very noble color!” she spat at him, using her wand to change it back.

“Right and now you’re making this a you thing! It should be blue!” he shouted as he switched it back.

 

This just started a color war between the two fairies going back and forth about the color they couldn’t seem to agree on. This went on for a while before Pidge could hear some humming coming close by.

 

“Knock it off you two! Rosario is coming!” she shouted, quickly catching both their attention.

 

All fairies looked at each other in panic, quitting whatever magic had been still going on and finding some hiding spots to be ready to surprise the young man. All while Keith getting in the last color, keeping it to blue for the outfit.

Unknown to the trio, however, just as Rosario had been heading back home while blissfully happy and humming to himself, another had been watching and stalking the cottage for a short while. A very furry fellow perched up on tree as he may have caught some of the magic seep out while the fairies had been so busy making everything perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So going to just clarify right now, in case anyone may get the wrong idea, but the scene of "blue vs red" colors (besides in reference to the movie) is simply to relate back to the show of how Lance was both the Blue and now Red Paladin. Nothing more. I know no one's really commented on it but it's just a reminder that this is a Shance fic.
> 
> Other than that, hope you guys have been enjoying the story so far! Lotor is finally in the scene of things so hope you guys will like with what I plan for his interactions soon!
> 
> Comment are always appreciated!


	8. Big News and Harsh Realities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything was suppose to go well, this was suppose to be a great day. Nervous, sure, but a few bumps on the road was expected. But Rosario never expected that his caretakers have such life changing news for him. And Shiro was in no better position as well.

Chapter 6: Big News and Harsh Realities

 

Rosario hummed as he made his way home, so excited that he was going to have Shiro over and have his caretakers meet him. This was becoming one of the best days of his life. He was in complete bliss as got to the front of the cottage.

 

“Allura, Keith, Pidge?” he called out as he entered through the door, “I’m home! I have something to-”

 

He gasped as he saw the beautiful display in front of him: a delicious cake and gorgeous made blue suit. Then from out of the corners did the trio pop out.

 

“Surprise! Happy birthday, Rosario!” the three smiled and cheered.

“Aww, you guys! You keep out doing yourselves each year,” he laughed as the group came in for a big hug.

“Well, we always want to make sure your birthdays are nothing but great, dear,” Allura told him as they let up.

“This must’ve taken hours to get all this to look nice,” Rosario smiled and couldn’t help but bounce in excitement.

“Right…hours…but so worth it for you,” Allura laughed a little while Keith rolled his eyes and Pidge snickered.

“Ah, everything is turning out so wonderful! Lovely cake, beautiful suit, oh my I just can’t wait for you guys to meet him!” the birthday boy said rather absentmindedly.

“Him?” Pidge repeated in shock.

“Rosario!” Allura gasped.

“Uh, excuse us? What are you talking about?!” Keith asked but looking rather grumpy as ever.

 

Well it was going to come out soon or later, Rosario guessed. He gulped as he turned over to see the mixed emotions each of his caretakers had.

 

“Okay, so please just hear me out!” Rosario begged, “I know it seems sudden but let’s just say…I met this really amazing guy…”

“Rosario, what have we told you about strangers?!” Keith shouted as he was going to have none of what was being explained.

“I said hear me out! Besides he’s not…exactly a stranger?” Rosario smiled awkwardly.

“What do you mean he’s not?” Pidge asked, her arms crossed as she was wondered what any of this was about.

“Well…I’ve um…met him before?” the young man explained, “We’ve actually been meeting each other for years at this point. Technically less since it’s more like we meet up one day of each year.”

 

Dead silence spread while Rosario explained, causing him to further continue.

 

“It was when I was really young and kinda ran away from home…” he said before Keith turned white as Allura and Pidge gasped loud.

“Ran away?! When was this?!” Allura asked in disbelief.

“Look that really doesn’t matter!” he tried to defuse the hostel mood that lingered over now, “Just know that I’ve actually talked to him for a while and well…I just really want you guys to meet him!”

 

To show how serious he was, he took a deep breath and looked them all dead in the eye.

 

“I want you guys to meet him because I love him,” he said flat out.

 

Silence spread once more but now the trio looking at each other very worried and displeased. It wasn’t until Allura sighed and stepped up, placing her hand on the young man’s shoulder.

 

“Rosario, that’s very sweet and bold of you to want us to meet him. And in any other circumstance, we’d be more than happy to get to know this man you love,” she told him but was hesitating now.

“But…?” he asked her, not understanding why this was so hard to do.

“We can’t meet him because you’re going back home to reunite with your father today. And you’ve already been betrothed to another.”

“I…what? Betrothed? But I can’t be! That would mean I’d have to be-” he stared at her in disbelief before Pidge interrupted him.

“A prince,” she finished up.

“Rosario, you are indeed a prince and you true name is Prince Lance of Nalquod,” Keith confirmed.

 

Rosario, or rather Lance, stared at them all in complete disbelief. He slowly shook his head and backed away from them, not understanding why he was being told all this, especially now of all times.

 

“N-No, I can’t be! This has to be a cruel joke!” he tried to reason.

“I’m sorry Prince Lance but this is the truth. And I know it’s hard for you to take all this in, but please give us some time to explain why,” Allura said looking pretty solemn now. “But we are leaving today.”

“Which means whoever this person you wanted us to meet, not only will we not bother with him but you’re not allowed to see him again,” Keith said rather sternly.

 

Lance couldn’t help but tear up, all this was crashing down and he couldn’t take what they said as truth.

 

“You’re lying! None of this is true!” Lance argued as his tears fell down now.

 

The trio looked at each other and all sighed as they pulled out their wands and revealed their true selves as the trio of good fairies.

 

“We’re not lying, Lance. And…we’re really sorry it turned out this way,” Allura told him, her own tears starting to form.

 

But this was becoming too much for him, Lance crying and heading in his room as he locked it behind him. He sobbed and laid on his bed, his wonderful birthday was ruined by this sudden reveal now.

The trio of fairies all sighed and couldn’t help but feel bad for him, they knew it would be difficult to explain this to him but they could never imagine it would turn out this bad.

Fortunately for a certain furry spy, Kova saw and heard all that was needed and quietly fled back to Lotor as he provided all the information the wicked prince needed to know.

* * *

If Shiro was having any sort of feelings right now, his most obvious one was nervousness. And who could blame him? He was about to tell his father that he had plans of meeting a peasant later on and confess his feelings for him and prove how much he was in love with him. And he could just imagine how upset his father would be and probably disown him, too. But for him, it was worth it because Rosario was more than worth it.

Shiro was just making his way back to King Blaytz’s castle, trying to calm down his nerves as a familiar face came by to greet him.

 

“Glad to see you’re back, Shiro!” Hunk said as he patted him on the back, “Jeez, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Hey, Hunk and more like I’ll end up being a ghost,” he joked to lighten the mood even if it was for himself.

“Become a gh-Oh no. Shiro, really? I know I said I’d do my best to stay by you but you haven’t even brought this guy over. If he’s even real,” Hunk told his friend, rather suspicious over this.

 

Shiro just rolled his eyes and stared at Hunk like he’d been over this many times before.

 

“Hunk, I told you that he is real and honestly if he wasn’t then why would I even try to let my father know about this?” he replied back.

“So you could avoid some responsibilities or have your father listen to you for once or avoid any future marriages that you wouldn’t want to be forced in or-” Hunk listed off before Shiro groaned loudly.

“I know! I know it looks bad but trust me on this!” Shiro tried to explain himself, “Look I’m going back tonight so I can meet his family and hopefully, if they like me enough, I can bring him here and show my dad how serious I am about this.”

“I dunno about this man,” his friend sighed, “but I guess if this really isn’t all in your head then by all means go for it.”

“Really reassuring there,” Shiro sighed as well but he knew his friend meant well.

“Well if it helps, I am keeping my promise and sticking by you through thick and thin,” he smiled and patted the prince as they both reached over to entrance of the castle.

“Thanks, Hunk. But right now I need you to get my steed since this is definitely going to be something I need to do on my own,” the prince smiled.

“You sure? I don’t mind helping ease any yelling his majesty will start.”

“No, no, like I said this is something I need to do on my own and if he’s not going to listen then he’s going to have to sit back and watch as I leave.”

 

Hunk nodded as now he was the one feeling nervous and went to bring Shiro his horse. The prince, however, took his time, unsure how this all would boil down to as he sighed and took a deep breath before entering the castle.

Upon entering he noticed that everything looked pretty festive. Which was odd as this was the first time he ever noticed (or even remembered) this, since if he were to ever admit it, the place was usually gloomy. While becoming both confused and admiring the changes of castle, the prince was startled when his father was in front of him and coughed to get his attention.

 

“I see you finally returned from where ever you decided to venture off to this time,” Ulaz told him, a bit of disappointment in his voice.

“Sorry father, it was important…” Shiro tried to explain himself.

“Well whatever it is, it can wait. Right now you need to prepare for meeting your fiancée,” Ulaz explained, not seeing Shiro’s shocked face.

“Wait, you were serious about that?” he asked in disbelief.

“Of course I was. When have I joked about these kinds of things?” the king mentioned as he looked around to see everything was placed properly.

“Father, you honestly want me to get married to a prince that I don’t even remember and haven’t seen in years?!” Shiro started to argue.

“You understood this, I’ve told you for years that you were betrothed to King Blaytz’s son. And suddenly you’re surprised by this?”

“And you promised that if I didn’t feel anything for him you’d let me marry whoever I so pleased!”

“After you’ve spent some time with Prince Lance! And since when did you have a lover? You’ve never spoken about this until now!”

“Because I knew you were going to be like this! And so what? I rather marry what you deem a nobody that I’ve gotten to know than a hidden prince I’ve haven’t even met in years!”

 

The hallway was easily filled with tense aura, anyone that dared passed by would quickly turn back. It was clear that Shiro nor Ulaz would see eye to eye soon.

 

“Enough of your games, Takashi. Stop fooling around and get ready,” Ulaz demanded, it was clear he was pissed when he used Shiro’s actual name.

 

But the prince wasn’t going to back down. Not now and not for losing his chance to be with his lover.

 

“No! In fact, I’m serious about this and will show you how serious I am to choose a peasant boy over a prince!” Shiro proclaimed as he stormed out of the castle.

“Takashi Shirogane, you come back here this instant!” Ulaz followed right behind.

“If you decide not to disown me then I will assure you that I will continue my duties as a prince,” Shiro snapped at his father, Hunk waiting with the prince’s horse right beside him. “But marrying this prince that I can’t even recall is something I will not do. My heart belongs to the one that I’ve gotten to know over the years. If you can’t accept that then I suppose I’m no longer your son.”

 

With that Shiro got on his horse and rode off to go meet up with Rosario once more. He had a plan already in his mind: meet his love’s family and bring him back here to meet his own. Hopefully this would make his father understand. He knew that he would need to explain himself, too. After all he did hide the fact that he was a prince for years. But he trusted Rosario enough to know that wouldn’t change anything in their relationship since he was still Shiro, just with a fancy title and royal blood.

Ulaz on the other hand may look to be calm about this but internally he was seething. His son knew for years on end that he was to at least try to get to know Prince Lance, give him a chance before deciding whether or not he wanted to go on to marry the younger prince. And he let that all crash down with hiding about a lover he’s had for years. Hooray for the oncoming migraines. He glanced to see Hunk was next to him, looking ghostly pale and nervous.

 

“And I suppose he told you about all this?” the king mentioned.

 

Hunk gulped and looked over at him before slowly nodding.

 

“Y-Yes, but it was kind of hard to believe him at first,” the apprentice said, “but after today, I can tell that this really does mean a lot to him. Whoever this young man he’s in love with sure is lucky.”

 

Ulaz looked toward the distance to where his son had fled, heavily sighing as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

 

“That boy is going to start a war,” he spoke as he turned to head back towards the castle, “and it won’t be with Daibazaal of all kingdoms.”

 

Now it was this king’s turn to feel uneasy, unsure how his close friend would take the news of his son not wanting to go through with the plans at a time like this. As understanding and kind Blaytz normal is, something like this would only come out as an insult to him. And that itself would be a set of problems on their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't except this to be a long chapter but whoopsie dasiy kinda turn out to be that way. Hope you guys at least enjoy it that more! Also another poll (kinda): I most likely won't add this unless asked but would anyone want to a slightly different version of King Stephen and Hubert's conversation from the movie? I wouldn't mind it but it honestly depends if anyone is interested.
> 
> Anyway, comments are always appreciated!


	9. A Storm Before the Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With how everything had going for Lance was there anything else to know about now? Well he definitely didn't know or wasn't expecting a surprised visit that's for sure.

Chapter 7: A Storm before the Calm

 

The sun would set soon and night began to fall. The time had come to return the hidden prince to his father and kingdom. Making sure they would not be followed, the fairies carefully concealed themselves and the prince as they made their way out of the forest. Not wanting to attract attention to themselves, they wore cloaks to stay hidden and used a secret entrance to enter the castle. They knew that even if the citizens would gladly accept the prince back, they could not chance any moment until they were positively sure they had avoided the curse.

It wouldn’t be long once they entered the castle and into a beautiful room. The trio sighed in relief, glad they seemed to have made it with ease. Allura glanced over to Lance, the young man sitting down and not looking any happier since he was told the truth about himself, and felt guilty for all of this. She hoped that maybe one day Lance could see that they did this for his own protection. Pidge and Keith looked over at Lance then at Allura, the pink fairy sighing before she turned to her companions and nodded. All three gave a small nod to each other, waving their wands in the air once more and a small crown appearing. Allura took hold of it and stood next to Lance.

 

“One last gift for you, dear prince. A crown to wear in grace and beauty as it is your right and royal duty,” Allura spoke as she placed it on top of his head. But this didn’t change Lance’s mood one bit.

 

She knew he needed some time to let this sink in and that he was rightfully upset that things did not turn out the way he’d hope for. So she scooted the other two out of the room, along with herself, and giving one last glance towards Lance.

 

“I’m sure you need a few moments to yourself. As as much time as you need dear…” she said before closing the door.

 

It was then when Lance broke down once more. He didn’t want to believe this was happening, it was too much and too sudden for him. Sure, it was interesting that he had a father that perhaps was waiting so long to meet him but…it just wasn’t the same. Especially now that it meant losing his Shiro.   
  


* * *

 

The trio of fairies sighed as they sat outside the room, waiting for Lance to inevitably get over this and present himself to his father, the kingdom, and to his fiancée.

 

“Did we really need to do this? What if we, I dunno, bring this up to King Blaytz? Surely he will understand!” Pidge tried to explain.

“It’s not that simple, Pidge. There’s too much at stake right now,” Allura sighed.

“Well maybe if he didn’t go off getting to know this random guy, he wouldn’t be like this at all!” Keith complained.

“Yeah and who’s fault is that?” Allura glared at him.

 

Keith stared back, but clearly wanted to shrink because, well, it was partially his fault. But not all his fault he would argue.

 

“Doesn’t matter, he’s going to need to get over this and start preparing for what’s to come,” he said as he glared out of a window but he didn’t mean his words. He was upset, just like the rest of them, about this ordeal.   
  


* * *

  
Lance was still weeping over all that he had lost and how frightening this all was at the same time. Losing Shiro only to become a prince? He didn’t even know the first thing about being a prince! He just wanted to get away from all this, run away with Shiro and live happily with the man he fell in love with. But as he was crying he hadn’t noticed a shadowy figure enter the room, manifesting itself into a being. It was when the being enchanted the door to lock and took a few steps towards Lance did he finally look up and gasp in shock.

 

“H-Hey! Who are you? And how did you get in the room?” he asked as he wiped away his tears.

“Oh, Lance, you’re so much lovelier in person. I swear you really are a painting come to life,” the stranger said, smiling at him.

“I uh…th-thank…you?” Lance replied back, confused.

“My dear, why are crying? Who dared to make your lovely face tear up with such sorrow?” the figure asked as he got close to the prince, just in arms reach.

 

Lance however wasn’t too sure how to feel about him and stepped back.

 

“I’ll ask again, who are you and how did you get in here?”

“Lance, darling, surely you must know who I am. I’ve done my best to get to know how you look and what a beautiful husband you’ll become for me,” the mysterious person said as he took hold of Lance’s hand and brought it close for him to kiss it.

 

This startled him as he tried to pull back but it seemed as though the other male had a tight grip on him. Lance really didn’t know what to think or say, but apparently this man knew him? So he said what he only been told of recently.   
  


“A-Are you Takashi from the Marmora kingdom then? The prince I am to marry?” he stuttered.

 

The room was silent for a short while before the other burst out laughing and let go of his hand.

 

“Takashi Shirogane? My dear, you are too funny!” he laughed, “Do I look anything like that coward in armor? I knew you’d be grand but I never thought you’d be a comedian too! Anyway, jesting aside; tis I, Lotor of Daibaazal. Son of Honerva and Zarkon of Daibaazal.”

 

Lance was taken aback by what he said, even more so when he mentioned that Takashi’s other name was Shirogane. But…that couldn’t be the boy he had grown to know his life could it?

 

“Wait, T-Takashi’s last name is Shirogane? As in he would go by Shiro?” Lance had to ask.

“Oh yes, that no sense of a nickname his own father gave him. But enough about him, we should become more acquainted my love,” Lotor said as he reached for Lance once more.

 

Lance was more than quick to dodge the other, shaking his head.

 

“I just..I can’t believe it…Shiro is a prince, too?” he asked, mostly to himself as he held his head in confusion. Surely today was more than too much for now. If he was lucky this was all just some weird twisted dream.

 

Lotor seemed to not be amused every time Lance wanted to go back to talking about Shiro.

 

“Dear, it’s fine you want to talk about that pathetic prince but I honestly think it’s best if I take you home and-” Lotor tried to explain himself before he was cut off.

“I’m sorry Lotor but…I don’t know who you are. In fact, this is probably the first time I even heard about you,” Lance told him.

 

Lotor took a moment to stare at Lance, chuckling because now his love must have gone back to joking.

 

“Not heard of me? Lance, I knew so much about you and been waiting for this day to finally meet you. Surely someone must’ve mentioned how we were to wed,” Lotor asked slowly going into denial.

 

Unfortunately for him, Lance looked confused and shook his head once more.

 

“I’m really sorry but the only prince I know is Takashi Shirogane, who I was told I am betrothed to,” he explained and stared at his reflection in the mirror, “but now…maybe I know him as someone else? As the boy I met so long ago?”

 

Lotor’s heart was shattering bit by bit. How the hell was he never told of him?! His mother always told him stories of how King Blaytz wouldn’t dare to be dumb enough to let his son die. So he was definitely going to marry Lance! But now that his prize was denying him? Not only was this breaking his heart, but it was fueling and boiling anger in him.

 

“Marry Prince Shirogane?! Your father is a fool! And anyone else who has denied you the right to know of me!” Lotor sneered, breaking Lance out of his thoughts.

“Well, I’m definitely not going to marry you any time soon!” Lance fought back but now was putting himself in a corner.

“And why not?! I’ve waited years just to finally have you with me, and this is what I get?”

“Do you even know anything about me? Besides my looks, do you know what my hopes and dreams are? What I would have hoped to become if I weren’t a prince? Hell, do you even know what my favorite color is?!” Lance shouted at him.

 

Lotor was seething and now glaring at the prince. He still loved him but this was becoming more ridiculous for him to hear.

 

“You’re even more foolish than your father if you’re not even concerned about your own life like this!” Lotor snapped at him.

 

Lance was surprised and had a questionable look on his face. “My own life? What are you talking about?”

It was then it clicked in Lotor’s head. This poor naïve prince, he really was kept in the dark about everything. Lotor fixed himself to look proper again before staring down at Lance.

 

“You really don’t know do you?” he asked with a wicked smirk on his face, “some father you have. No, some pathetic fairies you have for not even letting you know.”

 

Lance could feel his stomach turning, something was definitely off and bad about all this. He couldn’t help but jolt in surprise when Lotor suddenly formed a staff right in front of him and cracked in on the floor.

 

“Very well, I suppose this isn’t completely your fault dear,” he said. “It’s a shame, really. In a way, perhaps this is punishing both your idiot of caretakers and yourself. I would have been so generous to lift your curse but you left me with no other choice. Honestly maybe you’ll see it my way that I do indeed care for you, even if I don’t know everything about you.”

 

Lance had no time to react to Lotor’s comment as his staff, the orb on top suddenly glow a bright purple. He didn’t know what was happening or why he was feeling like this, but staring at the brightness and color he just had the urge to follow it now.   
  


* * *

  
The trio had sighed as they had continued to wait for Lance to finally calm down. It was a harsh thing to do but if they were lucky, maybe they could indeed work something out. As they tried to look at the bright side of things, Keith who had still been staring as he hoped the sun would set sooner glanced around until something caught his eye. It was strange at first, he really was focusing on colors of the sky to turn into an orange purple while ignored everything else but a creature caught his attention. It took him a moment to get a better look at it and he immediately felt a wave of fear overflow him. The creature, who had been staring back at him, was a cat. But not just any cat. It was Kova, the beloved cat of Haggar. He understood right then and there, everything could go wrong.

 

“Open the door,” Keith said panicked.

“Huh? Keith, seriously? Let him calm dow-” Allura said before Keith cut her off as he tried to open the door to the room. “Keith! Give him some space!”

“We have to open it now!” he shouted but cursed when the door was locked.

“Open it? Honestly man, what’s gotten into you?” Pidge asked but was weirded out that the door wouldn’t open now.

“Lotor is here!” he shouted as he pulled out his wand to disenchant the door.

 

Allura and Pidge looked beyond shocked and scared when he said that.

 

“Wait how do you know?!” Allura asked, Keith continuing to curse when his magic wasn’t strong enough.

“Kova is here! Now stop screwing around and help me open the door!” he shouted, Pidge having already started to help him with her magic.

 

Allura was quick to push aside them both and with her magic alone opened the door. But once they got inside, it looked like no one had ever entered.

 

“Where’s Lance?!” Allura shouted as she searched the room.

“Over there! There’s a sudden path opened up at the fireplace!” Pidge pointed out, the trio now making their way in and in complete disarray.

 

They were quick to start shouting and called out for the prince, using his real name and by the name they gave him. It only panicked them more when there was no reply, furthering in what felt like a maze to find Lance. But it also hit them of what might happen next.

 

“Lance, Rosario! If you can hear us, whatever you do, don’t touch anything!” Allura’s voice said in an echo. She prayed that he could at least heed her warning.   
  


* * *

  
Lance had followed the orb, and by extension was following Lotor, all the way up in a tower. He was too mesmerized by it to notice his surroundings, where he was going, and even manage to block out noises. It wouldn’t be long until the orb lead him to a door, opening slowly and right in the middle of the new room where a spinning wheel appeared before him. Of course, he didn’t even know what a spinning wheel was as this was the first he’d ever laid eyes on. It looked so intriguing and complicated, taking a step closer and reaching out to see how it worked.

 

But he seemed to snap out of the trance, just for a moment, when he heard someone mention he shouldn’t touch it and pulled back his hand. It would be all for nothing though, his wrist was grabbed to sudden lean in close to touching the spindle of it.

 

“Touch the spindle, Lance. Touch it I say!” Lotor’s calm and silky voice spoke to him, his wrist no longer being pulled.

 

It didn’t matter, as Lance finally touched the tip of it and a flash came before him. He fell down onto the floor with a loud thud!

This caught the attention of the fairies, rushing towards the sound before all gasping when instead of seeing Lance it was the now grown son of Haggar.

Lotor turned to the trio, glaring at them all. “You pathetic fools. Did you really think that you would avoid my mother’s curse? That if you hid the prince from all this, along with leaving him in the dark about his fate, it would suddenly go away?!”

He kept his eyes on the trio, making sure his glares would burn into their memories for committing such a horrible sin in his eyes. “And not only that but you even kept him from me! Making sure he knew nothing about me! Well…I hope you’re proud of what you did because here’s the precious prince you tried so desperately to save!”

Lotor stepped aside to reveal Lance had indeed fallen to the curse. The wicked prince only stayed longer to see the complete shock and guilty faces of the fairies before using his magic to vanish. And there did the trio kneel down and break into tears for failing such a vital mission. All while the kingdom was blissfully unaware and started the celebration of their returned prince.  
  


* * *

  
Shiro had been riding along the trail for some time now as he was lost in his own thoughts and with a continuous mixed bag of emotions. Sure he actually stood up to his father but did he really feel the need to say all that!? Honestly, even if he was bold he also couldn’t help but feel like he was overdramatic, too. He sighed heavily as he now reached the spot he and Rosario had been not too long ago. So going by the other’s directions, it was rather easy for Shiro to tread his way over to the cottage.

He had arrived shortly after, thank goodness his horse was very fast with making his way around. And now Shiro was in panic with having to meet Rosario’s family. Were they nice? Would they judge him? Oh God, what if they felt the need to force Rosario to marry him now if he wanted to confess that he was Prince Shirogane?!

He gulped as he finally took the courage and made his way to the door, knocking on it. It felt like an eternity when no one answered (although really it was just a minute) and knocked again.

 

“Come in~,” a soft voice spoke.

 

Shiro was surprised but relieved to see that someone finally answered him. He opened the door and made his way in though instantly felt suspicious with the cottage being completely silent.

 

“Rosario? Hello? Are you he-” Shiro asked but was immediately ambushed and captured.

 

Out from the shadow did Lotor reveal himself, smirking at how easy it was to get Shiro.

 

“Well isn’t this quite a turn of events. Here I am waiting to catch me a peasant boy but instead my trap caught me a prince instead,” Lotor cackled as he took a step further to get a better look.

 

“What the hell?! What are you doing? Where’s Rosario?!” Shiro struggled to get out of his binds.

 

“Psh! Again with these dumb name changes! And I honestly don’t see how or why my beloved Lance is so enamored with you. No matter though. He’ll see it my way eventually,” Lotor brushed off.

 

Shiro was surprised when he said that but glared at Lotor.

 

“Lance? What are you talking about his name is-”

 

“Enough! I tire of this game and it’s honestly pathetic that you want to continue this. Shut him up and take him to my castle,” Lotor sneered, “oh but of course, be gentle with him. After all he is still royal, so we should be at our best.”

 

Lotor’s lackies snickered at each other as they gagged him and pushed him forward on their way to Lotor’s ruined palace.   
  


* * *

  
The fairies had placed the sleeping prince on a comfortable bed, it was the least they could do for Lance. They were in complete guilt and sorrow, wishing they could’ve done better. It was until Pidge spoke up, sniffling and looking rather worried.

 

“Guys…what are we going to do?” she asked looking uncomfortable.

“Do what?” Keith sighed, trying not to let all this get to him.

“His father, what are going to tell him?”

 

The room was silent and tense, it almost felt like you couldn’t even breathe. But it was Allura that broke the silence soon after.

 

“We’re not telling him anything,” she simply said.

 

Keith and Pidge looked at Allura with widen eyes and disbelief.

 

“What? What do you mean we’re not telling him?!” Keith demanded, “He’s clearly going to find out soon!”

“We’re not telling him. We’re not telling anyone about this!” Allura said as she looked at both with determination, “No one is going to know because we’re putting the entire castle to sleep with Lance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah I lowkey feel bad because Shiro probably has the shortest part in this chapter (was aiming for equal amount of writing). So whoopsie daisy on that, but I do hope you guys still enjoyed the rather long chapter anyway! And hope you're excited for what's to come next.
> 
> Comments always appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys for giving this a chance! Sorry the first chapter/prologue is short but I plan to make the following chapters from here on longer for those who want to read more. Comments are always welcomed!


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